


Lions and Tigers and Igigi, Oh My

by LitGal



Series: Not in Kansas Anymore [1]
Category: NCIS, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Crossover, Goa'uld, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Master/Slave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2017-12-28 16:08:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 64,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/993887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LitGal/pseuds/LitGal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony had never heard of goa'uld or tok'ra or igigi, and he sure as hell didn't know Gibbs had a passenger riding around in his head, but if Gibbs thinks one little alien parasite is going to make him go running, he has another thought coming. He's Gibbs' second, and that means he doesn't give up on his boss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on prompt challenges given to me by taylorgibbs and trouvera over on LiveJournal

Tony unloaded an entire clip into the suspect, trying hard to not panic when the Marine kept coming at him, the eyes shining like a demon rising from hell, and Tony had definitely watched too many invasion movies.

"Boss!" he called, an edge of desperation in his voice as he backed up the steps and pulled another clip out of his pocket. Dropping his empty clip so that it clattered to the floor, he slapped the new one in and started firing again. Nine, ten, twelve holes, each trailed a line of blood out of Captain Kest's chest, so Tony knew the bullets were hitting. However, whatever shit this guy was on, it was keeping him moving when he should be falling over dead.

"Aim for the head, DiNozzo!" Gibbs' friend called out. Normally Tony wasn't good at taking orders from anyone other than Gibbs, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He changed his aim just in time for Captain Kest to turn to face the new voice.

"You," Captain Kest said, his voice echoing oddly. Well, not echoing exactly, but Tony did not have a word for the current weirdness. O'Neill stood on the catwalk with Gibbs.

"You know, I thought I killed you once... or twice. I might have killed you twice. I've killed so many of you guys that it's getting hard to keep track of," O'Neill said with a casual shrug. The man was insane. He was insane and standing next to Gibbs. Tony's stomach churned with acid as he realized that the bad situation had just gotten a lot worse.

"NCIS, drop the knife and get down on the ground," Tony ordered, desperately trying to take control of the situation. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to be ignoring him.

"You have no idea how much pain you'll suffer," Kest snarled at O'Neill.

"Suffering, pain, subjugation. You guys promise more than you deliver."

"Jack," Gibbs warned. Tony recognized that tone. Unlike everyone else in the universe who jumped when Gibbs got cranky, O'Neill got a wry grin.

"Now me, I'd be happy to play all day, but these folks need to get back to their lives. So, you can either surrender and get out of that sailor, or I can add one more snake to my kill list." O'Neill was all cheerful smile and frightening insanity. Clearly the man had been in the special forces for a little too long.

Kest slowly turned to face Tony, his wounds still sluggishly bleeding. "I'll get out of this host," he agreed, and some little prey part of Tony's brain recognized the predatory look in Kest's eyes before he leaped straight at Tony with inhuman speed. Tony emptied his entire clip into Kest's head, the blood and bone turning to a mist that settled to the ground behind the body that crumpled in slow motion. Tony had killed in the line of duty, but this time was different. His heart pounded so hard that he couldn't stop pulling the trigger until the weapon clicked as the hammer fell on the empty chamber over and over.

"Tony. It's okay. You can stop now." Tony didn't know when Gibbs had moved, but he was there at Tony's side, his fingers curling around Tony's wrist. "It's safe now."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

"I will keep him safe."

Tony was losing his mind because now it sounded like Gibbs' voice had that same echo.

"Samas, it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between you and Gibbs."

"Fuck off," Gibbs said, and this time his voice sounded normal. Normal and almost amused.

"Boss?" Tony asked.

"Don't worry about it, Tony. You're safe. Let's just get you out of here."

"And have a little conversation about gou'uld and tok'ra and the igigi," O'Neill suggested.

"Don't bring him into this," Gibbs snapped. Tony stiffened. He was Gibbs' second, and whatever Gibbs was in, he should be there to back up his boss.

O'Neill sighed. "Both of you are stubborn bastards. No wonder you get along so well."

Tony had no idea what he'd said to make O'Neill think that, and even more oddly, O'Neill was staring only at Gibbs. Yeah, something was going on, and so far, the only movies that seemed to apply were alien invasion movies. In Tony's experience, that was never a good thing.


	2. Chapter 2

All three of them ended up in the same car, abandoning the one Tony had checked out in the parking lot of the warehouse, but that was probably for the best. Tony was fairly sure he couldn’t drive right now. In all reality, his legs weren’t even feeling up for walking. But they got him as far as Gibbs’ car. Tony hadn’t realized they were leaving until Gibbs started the car.

“Boss. The scene.” Tony had just shot a suspect who was trying to kill him… or suck his brain. The glowing eyes thing was definitely more in the brain sucking category.

“My people will clean it up,” Colonel O’Neill said. Shock robbed Tony of the words he needed to answer that. He wasn’t shocked that O’Neill was covering up a death—O’Neill struck him as the sort of special ops officer who had made more than one mess vanish. However, Gibbs was going along. That was shaking Tony’s world as much as the idea of glowy-eyed demon suspects who had tried to munch on him. Gibbs had a code, and he didn’t bend that code for anyone, and yet they were pulling out of the parking lot, leaving the scene unguarded.

“I thought I told you to wait for me at the office,” Gibbs said. For him, that was a mild reproach. Tony had expected more shouting or head-slapping or possibly even the dreaded cold-shoulder routine.

“You weren’t answering your phone,” Tony answered.

“Tenacious little shit, isn’t he?” O’Neill sounded obnoxiously amused by that.

Gibbs used the mirror to look into the back seat. “Yes, he is.”

Since he was riding shotgun, O’Neill could just turn around in his seat. “I know Gibbs took the battery out of his phone, so I have to know. How did you track him?”

Tony shrugged. “There were a limited number of places Captain—” Tony stopped. Captain Kest. Only, Tony was almost sure that the person running around in Kest’s body was not actually the captain. “There were a limited number of places the suspect could have used as a kill room.”

“And… but… so…” O’Neill let his words trail off.

Tony stared at him. O’Neill was not his boss, and right now, Tony was not having any warm and fuzzy feelings for the man. Ever since O’Neill had shown up on the heels of this case, Gibbs had been acting twitchy. And Gibbs never got twitchy, not even for old commanders. Weirdly, though, O’Neill was Air Force, so Tony couldn’t figure out how Gibbs might have worked for him. Marines didn’t usually work for Air Force officers, although maybe they ran things differently in the shadowing special ops world these two clearly shared.

“He looked at my last location, decided to look in any direction other than the one shown in my last heading, choose the possible locations within driving range, and then used a map on the computer to intuit which of the vacant buildings was most likely the kill room,” Gibbs said. Tony looked at the back of his boss’s head. Yeah, Gibbs knew everything. That was a given, but it kind of creeped Tony out to know that Gibbs could predict his moves that well.

O’Neill whistled. “Impressive.”

“I don’t keep him around because he’s pretty,” Gibbs said with a snort.

“He’s that too. Ninny probably figured he’d be an upgrade.”

“Ningishzida,” Gibbs snapped.

“Ningishzida?” Tony asked. “Is that the snake inside Captain Kest?”

O’Neill’s head whipped around like the kid in The Exorcist, and he gave Tony and dangerous look.

“Enough,” Gibbs said, his voice reverberating just like the captain’s.

Tony blinked. If the captain did the raspy voice thing, and now Gibbs had the same voice, did that mean that Gibbs had a snake?

“I thought you said he didn’t know anything.” O’Neill gave Gibbs a reproachful look.

“I didn’t,” Tony said, feeling a need to defend his boss. “But you talked about adding another snake to your list of kills, and you ordered him to get out of Captain Kest. You also said that things like that were always talking about subjugation and death, so I’m thinking this is not a friendly sort of snake.”

Silence filled the car for several minutes.

O’Neill grunted before commenting, “Well, you did warn me he was bright.” Any other day, Tony would have preened at the compliment, but today he was feeling a little too shell-shocked.

“Boss, the voice thing, and O’Neill called you Samas, said he couldn’t tell the difference between Samas and Gibbs. Do you…” Tony let the words trail off because he didn’t know how to ask that question. Worse, he didn’t know how to deal with the answer he knew was coming.

The voice that answered him was not Gibbs. It was too full of emotion, too varied in the tones, and too damn synthetic in a reverberating sort of way. “Gibbs is reluctant to speak of me. I am Samas, and yes, I do live within Gibbs.”

“We could fix that, you know,” O’Neill said ruefully in a tone that suggested he’d made the suggestion before. However, Tony was too busy trying to process the idea that his boss had a snake in him. A sentient snake. A sentient snake related to a serial killer who had brutally tortured a dozen servicemen.

Tony’s brain finally made the connection. Most of the victims had some sort of connection to Gibbs. The connections were decades old so another investigator might have missed it, but Gibbs had recognized enough of the victims to send Tony looking for connections, and he’d found them in every case: a sergeant who had extracted Gibbs from a Colombian mission in ’91, a medical tech who had been in Kuwait when Gibbs took his head injury earlier that same year, a logistical tech who had been working in Columbia in ’92 and so on. They all had some tenuous link back to Gibbs, tenuous enough that Shepard had dismissed their concerns.

“He was looking for you,” Tony said.

Gibbs glanced at him in the rear view mirror, and that was enough to tell Tony he was right. Gibbs had a snake in him and the other snake was hunting Gibbs’ snake by searching for people who might have been able to identify Gibbs and then torturing them for information. Tony felt ill.

“We’ll almost there, DiNozzo. Hold it together,” Gibbs ordered, and Tony had never disobeyed an order from Gibbs.

“On it, boss,” Tony said, even though he felt far more like something was on him. After that, he just stared out the window as the city flew past. They were in a residential area now, and it took Tony’s brain some time to recognize the neighborhood. They were going to Gibbs’ house.

After pulling into the drive, Gibbs got out, and Tony followed. He didn’t have the capacity for thought, but he knew how to follow Gibbs. Gibbs. Gibbs with a snake in him. Captain Kest has an exemplary record before he starting hunting and torturing his fellow servicemen, so did that mean the snake could take over and turn Gibbs into a monster?

Only the timeline… the snake in Kest had picked up Gibbs’ trail in the early nineties, which implied that Gibbs had carried a snake for at least that long. Tony’s brain had definitely broken somewhere because all these facts did not fit into his head at once.

Gibbs led them all down into the basement.

“Listening bugs?” O’Neill asked.

“I’ve built a few toys to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Gibbs answered. His hands were on Tony, urging him to sit on a stool, which was a good idea because Tony’s knees were threatening to go on strike. Gibbs pressed a glass into Tony’s hand. Tony expected something strong. Bourbon probably. Instead water slid over his tongue as he emptied the glass. He looked up at Gibbs, but he had on that same inscrutable expression he always wore.

Motes of dust floated through the air and the three of them all stared mutely at each other. Normally Tony would have made some joke to fill the uncomfortable spaces between them, but his brain firmly refused to come up with one.

“You going to tell him or should I?” Colonel O’Neill finally asked.

Tony watched as Gibbs’ gaze flickered between them for a second before settling on Tony. “You know you can trust me, right DiNozzo.”

“Yes,” Tony said firmly. He didn’t know what the hell else to believe, but he believed that.

“He’s not part of this, so it’s better if he doesn’t know,” Gibbs said firmly. Tony opened his mouth to object strenuously; however, Gibbs’ hard stare made him close it again without saying anything.

“He knows you, so he’s part of it,” O’Neill said.

“Are you saying you’ll make him part of this?” Gibbs gave O’Neill a look that had, in the past, made criminal start to cry and beg for their mothers.

“Nope. But someone’s going to come sniffing, and I’m guessing NID. They are going to be really interested.”

“In the snake,” Tony blurted before he could get totally shut out of the conversation. “They would be interested in the snake.” NID were the nasty end of the special ops, secret agency alphabet soup. They definitely didn’t play well with others, and no one even knew who their director was. That agency was buttoned up tighter than a nun’s underwear.

“Igigi,” Gibbs said softly. “Samas is igigi.”

“Is that a word for snake?” Tony asked, “or are there two kinds of sentient creatures running around in this conversation? I’m about to ask for a Powerpoint presentation with bullet points, boss.”

That actually earned a small twitch of Gibbs’ mouth.

O’Neill walked over and pulled out a second stool, angling it so he could see Tony while still keeping an eye on the stairs. “They aren’t snakes. They’re alien parasites that wrap around the brain stem of a human.”

“Not all the species is parasitic,” Gibbs said.

“Riiiight.” O’Neill rolled his eyes.

Tony’s stomach churned. “Captain Kest was infected, trapped in his body, and I killed him.” Tony had essentially killed an innocent man who had been forced to commit those crimes. The base of this throat burned as stomach acid tried to push its way up. He covered his mouth with this hand.

Oddly, O’Neill reached out and put a hand on Tony’s knee. “You freed him from a prison that you can’t imagine. I’ve come close to getting snaked a couple of times, and I’ve told my people that if it happens to me, they have orders to put a full clip right in my brain. That’s the real mercy.”

Gibbs stepped forward and rested a hand on Tony’s shoulder. That made O’Neill pull away, and O’Neill definitely felt uncomfortable around Gibbs. “Tony, look at me.” Tony did. He couldn’t see anything different. Gibbs still looked like Gibbs—second B for bastard. However, he didn’t look like he was on the verge of going out and spree killing. “I’ve had Samas with me the whole time you’ve known me.”

“Samas?” Tony felt like a kid poking at a bruise. It hurt just saying the name of the alien parasite that had infested his boss, and yet he wanted to chant the damn name and keep saying it until the world crashed around his shoulders. Tony was just grateful that he tended to freak out in the privacy of his own mind, leaving his face and body to seem calm.

Gibbs blinked, and his eyes glowed brightly. “I am Samas. And despite what Colonel O’Neill fears, I am not a parasite. I lived in the waters of Colombia when Gibbs was badly injured and fell into my river. I found that our personalities meshed and I chose to stay.”

“And that wouldn’t have anything to do with you having found a host with access to American technology, would it?” O’Neill asked in a rather unctuous tone of voice.

The haughty look Gibbs gave him was so unlike anything Tony had ever seen that Tony knew he wasn’t looking at Gibbs. “American technology is no less primitive than the rest of this sadly simple world.”

O’Neill huffed. “And your world is better?” From the tone of voice O’Neill used, Tony was guessing the answer to that was ‘no.’

“That is a subject for another day, for the answer is more complex than you understand and I am more concerned about Tony right now.” The creature in Gibbs tightened his hand on Tony’s shoulder. While Tony wanted to be freaked out, it felt like Gibbs touching him, which Tony never objected to.

“I am part of the same species as Ningishzida, the one who took over the captain. I even knew him. However, he is goa’uld, a part of my species corrupted with genetic memories so terrible that they have become monsters.”

“Or snakes are just monsters naturally,” O’Neill offered.

Tony looked over at the colonel. “You think Samas is evil. You think he’s controlling Gibbs.” Tony could not believe that anyone controlled Gibbs, not even a snake wrapped around his brain.

O’Neill sighed and leaned back against the counter. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve known Gibbs since before Colombia and our missions overlapped there. At the time, I didn’t recognize the signs. A few decades later, I’d met a few more of his kind under less than pleasant circumstances. It occurred to me that Gibbs’ miraculous recovery and sudden skill with technology seemed familiar.” O’Neill shrugged.

“And when you came, I didn’t deny or obfuscate,” Samas said. That was definitely Samas and not Gibbs. He didn’t hold himself the same way, and he definitely didn’t talk the same.

O’Neill made a face, but he didn’t answer. Samas turned his attention back to Tony. “The igigi were not infected with the memories or the arrogance of the goa’uld. When we tried to stop the excess cruelty of the other onac, we were slaughtered. Mostly.” Samas gave a Gibbs-like smile. “They forgot to check their kills.”

Tony grabbed at the new word. “Onac. You call yourself onac?”

“I call myself igigi,” Samas corrected him. “At one point, all my people were onac, but the goa’uld are now true parasites that would enslave this planet.”

Tony closed his eyes and he finally made the connection. “Which is why the NID would come after you.” If they were the same species as these gould, then the NID could carry out medical experiments on Samas—and on Gibbs.

“Yes,” Samas agreed.

That heavy silence fell again. Tony wanted to hide from the world—to close his eyes and act like today had been one very bad nightmare. He could go back to his desk and pretend he’d never left. He and Probie could be trading barbs while Ziva pretended to be disinterested even as she threw her own weight behind whichever of them appeared to be losing. She liked to keep the bicker-fights going as long as possible. But Tony knew that wanting something and getting it were two different things.

He opened his eyes. “No offense, Samas, but I’d rather talk to Gibbs right now.”

Samas’ smile was gentle. “I am not offended, and I am grateful we did get to speak to one another. You are good for Gibbs, and he is loath to say as much for fear that you will tie yourself and your dreams to a broken, old man.”

“He’s not—” Tony stopped when Samas nodded at him. Right. Samas didn’t think Gibbs was a broken, old man, but Gibbs saw himself that way. Tony wasn’t greatly surprised. Before Tony could think of a response, Gibbs’ body shifted. He stood a little straighter, and angled his shoulders at a slightly different pitch, and when he pulled his hand away from Tony, Tony knew that he was looking at Gibbs.

“What do we do now, boss?”

Gibbs stared at him without offering any answers. When Gibbs turned to look at O’Neill, Tony realized that Gibbs didn’t have any answers.

O’Neill looked back at Gibbs for a good minute, and then he offered an articulate. “Aw crap.” He stood up and pushed the stool under the workbench. “I’m going to have to confess to the general, aren’t I? It’s not going to look good that I let a goa’uld run around D.C.”

Gibbs’ expression was pure malice. Gleeful malice. These two might be friends, but they were the sort of friends who liked to torture each other. Gibbs did tend to have a masochistic side when it came to friendships. “It could be worse, Colonel. We could have lost Tony, and I don’t see Samas reacting well to that. You said your team had Ningishzida under surveillance.”

“Shit happens,” O’Neill offered. However, he was already dialing his phone, so whatever Gibbs and the colonel were talking about doing, it was already underway. Tony was just along for the ride.


	3. Chapter 3

“We have a problem,” O’Neill said when he turned his phone off. No one had answered, and Tony suspected he knew what sort of problem O’Neill might be talking about.

“Ningishzida rarely acted alone,” Gibbs said. “And I know he wouldn’t come after me if he didn’t have help.”

Either Gibbs’ reputation had gotten around to distant parts of the galaxy or Gibbs’ passenger was just as scary as Gibbs. Tony figured it made a strange sort of sense that Gibbs would get a bad-ass alien for a co-pilot.

“So…” O’Neill looked at Gibbs expectantly.

Seconds ticked by, but eventually Gibbs made a face like he’d bit a rotten egg. He turned toward the back of the basement under the stairs and started doing something that looked a lot like trying to wave down a passing car. The wall rumbled, and then it pulled back and started sliding into the side of the basement, leaving a large doorway into a secret lab.

“Holy, Batman,” Tony muttered.

O’Neill grinned at him. “I was going to say exactly that. So, what do your gadgets say?”

Gibbs sat at a desk and started turning on monitors. “I only have earth-level technology here, and I can’t scan for all alien energy signatures.” Gibbs’ hands were sure on the controls, flying across keyboards as he watched data readouts.

“Boss, you hate computers. Morrow had to threaten you to get you to use a computer instead of a typewriter for your reports.”

Gibbs kept working, but Tony could figure it out on his own. Gibbs didn’t want to get outted. If he suddenly knew how to work technology after some mission in Columbia, someone would have suspected something, although Tony doubted that anyone’s guess would have come close to the truth. “So all the times that you sent Probie scurrying back to the computer after he told you that some piece of information couldn’t be found?”

Gibbs snapped, “I shouldn’t have to do his work for him.” That was pure Gibbs

“But you could,” Tony said. “You could do Probie’s work, maybe better than McGee himself. You just wouldn’t be able to explain how you could do it.” Tony’s worldview had taken entirely too many hits in the past few hours.

“Goa’uld are scavengers of technology,” O’Neill said. “They don’t create much, but they’re damn good at figuring it all out.”

“But Gibbs isn’t goa’uld,” Tony pointed out.

Now O’Neill made a disgusted face.

Gibbs hit a button and a large projection of the city flashed up onto the ceiling. “Someone used something big. It could have been a ship cloak or a transporter… my equipment isn’t sensitive enough to tell.” A section of the city near the edge started to glow. That was a bad area.

“Well crap,” O’Neill said. “That’s where the team was.” He pulled out his phone and stalked out of the room, his body so tight that Tony could almost taste his need to kill someone.

With a sigh, Gibbs stood and turned off the projection. As Tony watched, his body slid into the less familiar angles of Samas. It was an easing of the shoulders, and a slightly different in the way he held his head. And Samas had the smallest curve at the edge of his mouth, as if he was contemplating smiling.

“Samas?” Tony asked.

That made Samas pulled back a step in shock. “Can you tell the difference between us so easily?” This time the voice was normal, none of the reverberation that had made him sound so alien earlier.

“You hold yourself different than Gibbs does. What happened to the voice?”

Samas smiled. “The alien tones are largely an affectation. The goa’uld use them to frighten those they would control. I use it because O’Neill needs a way to distinguish me from Gibbs. He is uncomfortable with this situation.”

“That’s an understatement,” Tony muttered. “Look, I don’t want to step on any decades’ old friendship here, but I’m not sure you’re safe with him.”

Samas pulled sank down into the office chair and looked up at Tony, that same expression of amusement on his face. This was doing very odd things to Tony’s head because Gibbs never looked at him with that sort of fondness. “O’Neill would much prefer it if I were dead, but Gibbs is adamant that I cannot give my life up, not even to ensure that he lives. He has even offered to fight me if I try to extricate myself from him.”

“That sounds like Gibbs,” Tony agreed. “And after talking to you about Gibbs while you’re sitting in Gibbs’ head, I’m really going to need therapy.”

“Gibbs did worry that this would be too much for you.” Samas nodded sadly.

“No, it’s not too much, and I’m not leaving Gibbs’ side no matter what he says. I just would have preferred dealing with one life-changing set of facts at a time.”

Samas tilted his head to the side. “Gibbs has never understood why he inspires such loyalty in others.”

“That’s easy. We know he’ll never give up on us,” Tony answered. No matter how fucked up the situation, he always trusted that Gibbs was coming, that Gibbs wouldn’t give up, even if everyone else did. Locked in an underground room with a dying Marine, chained to Jeffery, taken hostage any number of times—he believed that Gibbs would come for him, and Gibbs always had. Tony’s reality might have shifted, but that hadn’t changed. Samas stood and reached for him, resting his hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“And we must be here for Gibbs now.”

“What? Why?” Tony never would have dared to use that tone of voice on Gibbs, but this wasn’t Gibbs.

“O’Neill allowed us to continue because he trusts his instincts enough to believe some part of our story. His wish to avoid doing Gibbs damage has led him to violate his own standing orders. However, he watches. Every place I go, every purchase I make and dollar I spend, he scrutinizes for evidence that I am something other than what I claim.”

Tony sucked in a breath, disliking the idea that some big-wig colonel had been stalking his boss and he hadn’t even known it. “And why does Gibbs need us now?”

“Because his superiors are likely to be less tolerant,” Samas told him. “I will be taken into custody and interrogated. If I can convince Gibbs that separation is the best option, it would ease tensions. However, we are too integrated, and leaving against his wishes may damage one or both of us.” Samas gripped his shoulder. “Tony, I have stood with Gibbs for many years. In his worst of times, he has not been alone. Even when I could not give him back his memories until I had healed his shattered body, some part of him knew I was there.”

“But if they take you out of him...” Tony swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise up his throat. Samas had been there ever since Gibbs had lost Shannon—that’s what he was saying. “I won’t leave him.”

The shift back to Gibbs was so sudden that it startled Tony. The hand that had been gripping his shoulder quickly cuffed him upside the back of the head. “DiNozzo, this is not a spy movie or a game. You need to get clear of this mess,” Gibbs ordered.

Normally Tony considered Gibbs’ orders sacred, but being Gibbs’ second meant that he had to be able to stand up against his boss. When the orders included Gibbs trying to martyr himself to save everyone else, it was Tony’s job to ring the bullshit bell.

“No,” Tony said firmly.

“No?” Gibbs narrowed his eyes, and Tony could feel the sweat gather along his spine.

“No,” Tony repeated, staring right back at Gibbs.

Tony didn’t know how long they stood there before O’Neill cleared his throat. “So, are you two finished eyefucking, or should I come back later?”

Gibbs immediately transferred his glare to O’Neill. “What’s the situation?” he demanded. At the same time, he all but shoved Tony out of his hidden batcave.

“We have troops meeting us there, but right now, we don’t have any information. We need to get moving. We can take your car.”

O’Neill gestured toward the stairs. He didn’t want either of them behind him, and he wanted Gibbs driving, which would put him at a disadvantage in a fight. Tony looked over to see how Gibbs would handle this. Gibbs calmly rested his palm against a cinderblock and waited as the door to the hidden room closed.

“Let’s go,” Gibbs said as he headed for the stairs.

“On your six, boss,” Tony said, quickly putting himself in a position to cover Gibbs. Unfortunately that meant that if O’Neill started shooting that he was between the two men, but hopefully Samas was just being a little paranoid and pessimistic. Hopefully.


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs had point as they entered the building. Between the graffiti and the broken windows and crumbling foundation, the tenement should have been condemned, but the people who had scattered the moment Gibbs had pulled out a badge suggested that plenty of people still lived in this rat-infested disaster.

“You left your team here?” Tony asked O’Neill’s back. Unfortunately, he had rear with O’Neill between them. Pausing in the doorway, Gibbs stood with his head cocked to the side. He’d heard something to the right, and Tony checked his two o’clock before continuing to sweep the area.

O’Neill glanced over his shoulder, and that was enough to let Tony know that the man had heard and had not appreciated the comment. Then Gibbs stepped into the dim hallway in the rat-infested hotel and they all moved into the dim interior, wary of an ambush.

Generally Tony didn’t worry about backup, but right now he wished they would wait for the military unit to arrive. The idea of killer aliens that hid in people’s brains made him a little skittish. However, they used human bodies, and one head shot seemed to take care of the problem. Next time, Tony just needed to avoid humiliating himself by unloading his entire clip like some rookie. The more he thought about that, the more embarrassed it made him.

Gibbs led them up several flights of stairs and down more graffiti stained halls until they reached a room. Moving to the side, Gibbs allowed O’Neill to move to the door. He knocked while using the wall for cover, and Tony kept one eye on the door even as he guarded their six. The room was silent, and Gibbs had started pulling something out of his pocket, but then the door opened and the largest black man Tony had ever seen opened the door.

He looked around the hall, raised one eyebrow and offered a quiet, “O’Neill.” From the way he tilted his head, Tony was definitely getting that he was foreign. And given the way his day had gone so far, he had no idea just how foreign he might be.

“Murray. You guys stopped answering your phones.” O’Neill pushed his way past Murray and into the room.

“We encountered difficulties,” Murray said, his gaze settling on Gibbs.

“Yeah, me too.” O’Neill came back to the door. “Come on in, you two. You’ll want to see this.”

Murray immediately backed into the room to let them in, but he continued to watch, his hand on something tucked into the waistband of his pants. Tony held his weapon down at his side, but he didn’t holster it as he went into the room. A man and woman sat on the floor, each looking blurry, as if just waking up. They didn’t look concussed, but something had definitely happened.

“So, kids, whatcha up to?” O’Neill asked. He walked the perimeter of the room and ran a finger along the alien-looking technology set up along the walls. Tony swallowed as he realized it probably was alien.

“Jack, they were here,” the man said. He looked a little geeky with the glasses and the messy hair, but he had the physique of someone who trained hard, so Tony wasn’t sure where he fit in the scheme of things.

“No, really? Tell me something I don’t know Danny,” O’Neill said.

“You’re acting like an ass?” Danny offered as he stood up. Tony liked this guy.

Tony looked around and that’s when he noticed Gibbs looking at him. Gibbs’ gaze flicked down toward Tony’s weapon. Tony tried to stare at Gibbs and silently refuse the order, but the fact was that he was too used to following orders. With an unhappy sigh, Tony holstered his gun, and only then did Gibbs go over to the computer.

“This is sophisticated tracking equipment,” Gibbs said. “This would have put out some pretty big energy readings.”

The woman gave Gibbs a strange look, but she picked herself up off the floor and went to stand next to him. She quickly moved controls and started checking the results, so Tony guessed she was some sort of tech.

“Carter, this is Gibbs,” O’Neill introduced them.

Gibbs offered his normal grunt.

“And this is DiNozzo,” O’Neill added.

Tony was actually surprised to have merited an introduction. O’Neill definitely didn’t seem to like him. However, Tony pasted on his best charmer’s smile. “Hi,” he said. Carter’s back stiffened slightly. So, that would be a ‘no’ to charming her. He adjusted his smile down from ‘goofy frat boy infatuation’ to ‘professional appreciation.’ Carter didn’t respond.

O’Neill rolled his eyes. “And this is Dr. Daniel Jackson,” O’Neill said.

Daniel… or as O’Neill called him, “Danny.” That was an interesting dynamic for a military man. “Hey, nice to meet you,” Tony said. He could see the second Danny looked at him. He did a double take at being caught in the beam of Tony’s smile, and then the tips of his ears started to redden.

“Yes, um, hi,” he managed to offer. That was more than Carter.

“Sir?” Carter asked, and Tony shifted his attention. She was looking at Gibbs, who was doing some adjusting of knobs himself.

“Carter, this is Samas, who is telling me he’s not goa’uld, but you know me and snakes. I tend to assume they’re all lying.” O’Neill managed to say that with a boyish grin, which really didn’t match. Tony felt his palms itch. When people’s emotions didn’t match their words, badness was just around the corner.

“That’s because you’re a lying bastard,” Gibbs said.

O’Neill walked over and leaned against the strange computer console so he could watch Gibbs. “Oh, the sweet things you say. If I recall correctly, Gunny, you have a background in professional lying yourself.”

Gibbs grunted, and then he got down on his knees and pulled one of the lower panels off, reveals rows of crystals. Tony shifted to take advantage of the dresser for cover and watched as Gibbs made himself even more vulnerable. Worse, his body language shifted as Samas moved forward. Tony hadn’t worked with Samas in the field, and he didn’t know how the alien might react to threats. It made Tony about as nervous as the first time he’d had to go into the field with McGee. The man was a wonder with a computer, but when he’d first started doing field work, he’d been a hot mess.

“These crystals are not right,” Samas said, his voice reverberating. Tony noticed the way Murray shifted slightly. He definitely didn’t like this development. Daniel blinked so fast that he looked like he was trying to badly flirt. Only Carter seemed to take it in stride. The fact these people didn’t run screaming out of the room suggested they had run into more than one goa’uld.

“What’s wrong with them?” Carter asked, crouching near Samas, but far enough away for a tactical distance.

“They are from a tel’tak. This is part of the cloaking system,” Samas pointed to a row of pretty crystals that looked like the leftovers from a Christmas display.

“The cloaking system? What would they be cloaking?”

Samas sat back on his heels. “Good question.” After standing up, Samas brushed the dirt off his pants.

“So, you’re Samas?” Daniel gave him a cautious smile. “Would that be the same Samas or Shamash know in the Sumerian tales of Gilgamesh?”

Gibbs turned and gave Daniel a cold look, and that was Gibbs, not Samas. Daniel took a fast step back, and Tony understood why because that was Gibbs’ death stare, the one he used on perps who threatened children and old women. That was full-on papa-bear Gibbs, and Tony figured that he was moving to protect Samas.

O’Neill quickly moved in front of Daniel, and Murray’s body stiffened. This was going bad.

“Gibbs, no scaring the civvies,” Tony teased. “We all know you don’t like getting poked about how old you are.”

Gibbs looked over, and for a second, all that anger was targeted right at Tony. Tony was used to it. He grinned and tried to make himself the center of attention until Gibbs could get his head on straight. “So, Daniel, do you have any embarrassing stories about him from his Shamash days, because I know Gibbs’ father, and that man will not share the baby pictures we all know he has hidden somewhere.”

Daniel looked toward O’Neill as though looking for permission, but when O’Neill didn’t say anything, Daniel took a step closer to Tony, which took him away from Gibbs. Everyone seemed to relax a fraction of an inch when that happened, so Daniel wasn’t military, and he was the one person the rest of the team felt a need to shelter. More than interesting.

“Shamash is the name of one of the gods in the epic of Gilgamesh. Many of the… aliens… chose to take the identities of gods. Shamash was known for siding with King Gilgamesh in order to kill the monster that kept people from the cedar forest. The forest had the resources for developing into a higher stage of technology, so one could say that Shamash is responsible for allowing the city of Uruk to develop. In fact, when Gilgamesh failed to kill Humbaba even after all of Shamash’s help, Shamash came down and captured Humbaba himself, making it possible for the fully human Enkidu to kill him.”

“So, good guy?” Tony asked. He already knew the answer to that. No alien would be able to stay in Gibbs’ mind if they weren’t essentially good. Legally questionable? Sure. Tony could see that. Gibbs had broken more than one law during investigations, but he had his morals.

Daniel nodded. “Very good guy.”

O’Neill jumped in. “Yes, but there have been good guys in history who turn out to be real assholes when we meet them. Look at Amaterasu.”

Daniel made an unhappy face.

“Not a good guy?” Tony guessed.

O’Neill’s snort made that clear.

Samas was far more vocal than Gibbs. “She is power hunger. She is not a true queen with the ability to genetically manipulate her offspring in order to create loyal followers, so she searched for ways to warp and twist the human mind until the person was only a shell, but one loyal to her.”

“Really?” Tony’s stomach rebelled a little. That sort of brainwashing required torture that Tony didn’t even want to think about.

Samas shrugged. “I haven’t actually seen her for close to three thousand years, so I can’t say what she’s like now.”

“She’s pretty much the same,” O’Neill said. “So, backup is on its way, but right now, we need to get over to Andrews. Our people will come in and collect all this.” O’Neill gestured toward the computers. Tony could see a flash of sorrow on Carter’s face, but she quickly covered it. She was a tech, but she didn’t get the time to work on tech that she wanted. Either that or the idea of a “telatak” cloak was so exciting that she wanted to play with it now. McGee got that way with newly released video games.

Gibbs nodded. “Tony, head back to the Navy yard and write up a report on one of the empty warehouses.” Gibbs looked supremely unhappy saying that, but Tony wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to be alone with these black-ops guys or if he hated the idea that Captain Kest’s family would never know what happened.

“I think I’ll stick with you, boss,” Tony said. He braced himself for the coming storm, but before Gibbs’ face had done anything more than darken with the threat of Gibbs-fury, O’Neill spoke up.

“Until we know who’s out there and what they might do, let’s all stick together,” he said. “If you need to, call your office and tell them you’re following up a lead over at Andrews Air Force base.”

Tony looked at Gibbs to see if that’s what he wanted. For a second, Gibbs stared back, but after a second, he gave a weary nod. Tony took out his phone and dialed.

Probie picked up so fast that Tony could just imagine him hovering over the phone, his face twisted with worry. This wasn’t fair to McGee or Ziva, but more than that, if something was hunting Gibbs, it might be smart enough to figure out the one sure way to get at the man.

“Tony?” McGee practically shouted.

“McGeek, were you worried?” Tony teased.

“Did you find Kest?”

“No, I found an empty warehouse.” Tony noticed that Murray had shifted slightly as if trying to listen in. If he could hear McGee’s voice on the phone from a few feet away, he definitely was on the inhuman side. Either that or he was from Krypton. And actually, what would still make him alien.

“Gibbs?” McGee sounded so hopeful. Tony stared right at Gibbs.

“Can I ever find that man when I want to? He’ll show up when he’s finished chasing whatever lead he’s on.”

“You think he found something?”

“Don’t know, McGee. Either he’s found some lead or he’s hiding in one of the forty or so spots he goes to think when he doesn’t want us around. If you really want to track him down, you can start at his house, I’ll start at the marina, and we can start hitting every place in between.” Tony waited, his bored expression carefully in place.

“No,” McGee said firmly, but there was just a shade of hesitation, that made Tony hope he’d picked up on it. Rule forty. If it seems like they’re out to get you, they are.

“Now that Gibbs is dating Mann, it’s probably forty-four,” McGee said in a disgusted voice. Good boy. He was checking to see if this situation was bad enough to hide the women and children. Either that or he thought he was imagining the code altogether.

“No joke,” Tony said. “But I got ahold of one of Kest’s old buddies. He’s over at Andrews Air Force base, and there’s something strange. I’m going to head over that way.”

“Who? I can look up the background for you,” McGee offered.

“I’m on it, McGeeky. You’re not the only one who knows how to look up a file.”

“But you don’t have backup.”

“I’m going to an Air Force base, not Kandahar. Chill McWorry. I’ll call if I find anything, but it’s late. You and Ziva should take off.”

“But—” Tony hung up before giving McGee a chance to keep protesting.

O’Neill gave him an amused look. “So, was Kandahar your panic code?” he asked.

“What?” Tony stared at him, all emotion shoved behind a carefully constructed mask.

O’Neill looked over at Gibbs. “Oh, he is good,” he said in an admiring voice.

“I hire the best,” Gibbs agreed with a shrug. “Forty—someone is out to get us. Forty-four—hide the women and children. Inside ten minutes, the rest of my team is going to be locked up so tight that not even you will be able to get close to them, especially the civilians.”

“Hey,” O’Neill said in a tone of exaggerated unhappiness, “do I look like the sort of person who would go after the civilians?”

“Yep,” Gibbs agreed easily. “I know you wouldn’t that that here, but he doesn’t.” Gibbs poked a thumb toward Tony. “Rule ten, Tony.”

Tony recognized his boss’s condemnation. Rule ten—don’t get involved personally. Well, it wasn’t personal when it was his boss that was in the mess, and Tony wasn’t going to walk away. Well Tony could play this game, and he had more rules on his side. He briefly debated between rules one and fifteen before throwing out his strongest argument. “Rule fifteen, boss,” he answered.

Always work as a team.

Before NCIS, Tony had some trouble working with a team, but Gibbs had taught him that even lone wolves like them could accomplish more if they worked with others. For all his joking and socializing, working together came as hard to Tony as it did to Gibbs. But hard or not, they were going to work together. If the Air Force was taking Gibbs into custody, Tony was going to be there to make sure he didn’t disappear into some black hole.

“Gunny, I never thought you’d find someone that deserved you,” O’Neill said. Tony noticed that Daniel ducked his head to hide his amusement. Carter seemed to be watching with a more analytical eye. She was the thinker of the team, not that O’Neill was a slouch. As a trickster who used humor to keep people off-guard, Tony recognized that behavior in O’Neill. For all his jokes, he was watching carefully.

Gibbs body language shifted, and Samas stood there. “Gibbs has more than one person who cares about him,” Samas said, and he stared at O’Neill so long that Tony had the feeling there were layers on layers of meaning here. “Shall we go?” Samas asked, the corner of his mouth twitching in an almost smile. Still, Tony didn’t miss the way Samas’ smile dimmed when he looked at Daniel. Since Daniel himself seemed to be a likeable guy, Tony had to assume that Samas didn’t want to talk about Daniel’s Shamash stories.

Right now Tony would give a kidney to have an hour to sit and get some straight answers, but he didn’t have the luxury. Instead he followed Gibbs when O’Neill gestured for them to follow Murray out of the room. And right on time, a dozen soldiers showed up, fully automatic weapons and all.

O’Neill rolled his eyes. “I need to teach someone the meaning of the word subtle,” he said wearily, but under all the melodrama, Tony could see honest aggravation. The word clusterfuck was starting to look more and more appropriate given the situation.


	5. Chapter 5

The door to the locked room where Tony found himself waiting opened. O’Neill stood in the doorway. “Agent DiNozzo,” he said.

“Colonel Backstabber,” Tony replied.

O’Neill stopped one step inside the door and Daniel slipped around him. The room had a couch and two chairs. Without waiting for an invitation, Daniel dropped down onto the couch.

“You have a really amazing record,” Daniel started. “I mean, the cases you and Gibbs have closed, even back when the two of you worked alone… really impressive.”

Tony considered the man. If Tony was right, he was least likely to do anything truly reprehensible, like drop Tony into a cell in Gitmo. However, that didn’t make it safe to talk to him. “If you’re trying to establish rapport with me in order to improve your odds of gaining information in an interrogation, you should know that I’m pretty prejudiced against you right now,” Tony warned him. Two minutes after being asked to check their weapons at the front desk, O’Neill had taken Gibbs away, and Gibbs had ordered Tony to stand down, so he hadn’t had a chance to try and fight to stay with his boss.

“Yes, well,” Daniel cleared his throat and then gave O’Neill a nasty look. “I know that this hasn’t been as non-confrontation as we all would have hoped.”

“Ya think?” Tony demanded, channeling Gibbs for that one moment, and he had to take a second to press the fear down into a little corner of his mind.

O’Neill sighed and walked over to drop down into one of the chairs. Tony would have made a break for it, only that left two Air Force guards standing outside the door. One of the guards reached in and pulled the door closed. Crossing his arms, Tony waited.

“You have a real attitude,” O’Neill said.

“Says the man who has a federal agent locked in a windowless room.”

“Yeah, well…” O’Neill shrugged. “I know you don’t understand this stuff.”

“I’m getting more than you think,” Tony said. They were using official Air Force personnel, not just people who knew O’Neill, and that meant that people up the chain of command knew about aliens. And colonels either ran small bases or served under generals on large one. Colonel O’Neill was running around the country, so he didn’t seem like the sort to run a small program. That meant that his alien-hunting base had a general in charge, and O’Neill was one of who knows how many colonels who helped keep the base running. Maybe he was in charge of tracking down the aliens hiding among the humans. Tony itched to go back to the office and run some background checks, because with this much information, he could dig out a whole lot more.

O’Neill looked at him for a long time. “Maybe you are,” he said slowly, and Tony got the feeling that was a threat.

Daniel cleared his throat. “Maybe we should start over here. I’m Daniel Jackson. I’m an archeologist, but I do linguistic work for the Air Force.”

“On alien languages,” Tony added. Daniel didn’t need to answer. Tony could read the confirmation in the tiny flick of his gaze toward O’Neill.

When O’Neill leaned forward, Tony turned his attention to the man. “You’re going to have to sign some non-disclosure agreements, the sort that would make you eligible for a very long stay in a very tiny cell if you breathe a word of any of this to anyone.” O’Neill held up a finger and thumb to show how small the cell would be.

“I’m not signing anything until I see Gibbs walk out of here,” Tony said firmly. “And with my team on alert, you’re running a clock here, Colonel.”

Daniel cleared his throat, but Tony ignored him.

“You’re not leaving here without signing,” O’Neill warned.

“I’m not leaving here without Gibbs.”

“Oh for God’s sake!” O’Neill exploded up out of his chair, and Tony held himself perfectly still. “You want him to still be Gibbs. I get that. But these snakes… they imitate us. We don’t even know if we’re talking to Jethro or if he’s locked in there behind this Samas.”

“So, an alien took over Gibbs so he could solve crimes?” Tony demanded. “What’s the big plan here? He’s been working at NCIS for years. He’s working in an agency that most people don’t know even exists. And it’s not like Gibbs is impressing people in power and moving up.”

“Not that you know about,” O’Neill said, and now Tony was seeing the real man—the controlled fury and the danger laid bare now that the humor had vanished.

“And I know pretty much everything when it comes to Gibbs.”

“You didn’t know he had a snake in his head.” O’Neill grinned like he had made some big point.

“I didn’t know snakes could get in your head or I might have figured out he was carrying an alien as quickly as I figured out Murray is an alien.” Tony watched as the words landed. O’Neill didn’t react, and he was shouting back as quickly as ever, but Daniel flinched.

O’Neill threw both hands up in the air. “Your arrogance is dangerous.”

“My arrogance? You’ve been stalking Gibbs, waiting for him to reveal some big plan. He doesn’t have one. On the anniversary of his divorce, he destroys a phone. When we have a case with a child, he’ll get drunk if we don’t save the kid, so drunk that I’ll have to go over to his house and scrape him off the floor under his boat. He is not the kind to take over the world.”

“He has a thousand year old snake in his head.”

“Probably closer to four or five thousand years,” Daniel interjected. “Shamash is one of the older gods, and Jack said that Gibbs used the word ‘igigi.’ Is that true?”

As redirections went, it was rather unsubtle, but O’Neill seemed to take the opportunity to ratchet back the rhetoric. All O’Neill’s emotions slipped back under that mask of veiled amusement. “Are you questioning my memory, Daniel?”

“I’m questioning your ability to pronounce words, Jack.”

“Igigi is right,” Tony said, curious where this was going. At least Daniel brought information instead of accusations.

“Igigi or Igigu were lesser gods forced to work for the major Sumerian gods. They rebelled against Enlil and that’s when Enlil created man to work the fields, because he couldn’t control the Igigi.” Daniel made a face. “Shamash isn’t normally identified as an igigi in the mythology though.”

“Operative word—mythology,” O’Neill sing-songed.

Daniel clenched his jaw for a second. Then he seemed to work at relaxing himself. “Mythology has a basis in fact. The number of mythological gods you’ve met shows that.”

“I haven’t met gods, Daniel. I’ve met egotistical aliens with delusions of godhood.”

“And they had personalities and territories based in mythology. So, what has Gibbs or Shamash told you?” Daniel said, quickly turning to Tony before O’Neill could answer.

“Nothing,” Tony said firmly. “I’m getting most of my intel out of O’Neill and you.” Tony looked over and gave O’Neill his best shit-eating grin. O’Neill’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re swimming in dangerous waters,” O’Neill said softly.

“I know Gibbs,” Tony said firmly. “I know Gibbs inside and out. I know when he’s about to blow, and I know how to get him back on track when he’s considering drop kicking a suspect off a building. One look and I know what he wants. You are trying to convince me he’s dangerous, but I know better.”

O’Neill sat in a chair, and carefully crossed one leg over the other before straightening the hem of his pants. “How much do you know about Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs?”

Tony leaned back against the wall and considered his answer. O’Neill wasn’t the enemy, but he was someone acting out of a misplace idea that Gibbs was a threat, and that made him dangerous. He needed to get O’Neill to understand that Gibbs wasn’t the bad guy—and neither was Tony.

“He entered the Marines to get away from his father. They have history, and after his mother’s death, he couldn’t stay. He met Shannon before joining, and married her later, even though her mother hated him. He served overseas as a sniper, working some pretty black ops missions in Bosnia, Bolivia, and probably in Libya, but he’s only made vague references to that. He was seriously injured in Desert Storm when he was caught in an explosion. That’s the same time his wife and daughter were killed by a drug lord. He did some work in Colombia, and eventually went into the reserves. He joined NCIS, and a few years back, he retired from the reserves.”

Surprise flickered across O’Neill’s face, but Tony knew that O’Neill had allowed that expression to show. “He told you about Libya?”

“He said things that made it clear to me he’d been there,” Tony agreed. “But then I also suspect he’s been to China, and I know there have been no sanctioned military actions that would explain that. I’m not even going to get into why Gibbs knows Russian. He might have learned it to better fight the Soviets, but he has a little too much street accent for that.”

O’Neill took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was a stall. Before O’Neill could make any decisions, Daniel jumped in. “You recognized the accent in Russian?” Suddenly, Daniel was spouting Russian, asking in a thickly academic accent, “How long have you studied the language?”

“Long enough to not sound like an American language student,” Tony answered in Russian.

Daniel blushed. “Yes, well it isn’t one of my first dozen languages,” he said with an apologetic moue.

“It was my fourth, after English, Spanish, and Italian. Although honestly, if you already speak fluent Spanish, learning Italian almost doesn’t count as another language.”

That made Daniel nod enthusiastically. “The common roots are—”

“Geek later, information now,” O’Neill cut him off. He focused all that laser attention on Tony. “You know Gibbs—I’ll give you that. But you don’t understand how dangerous these snakes are. Once they get into your brain, they know absolutely everything. Samas could strip Gibbs’ mind and use that to trick us.”

“Do you really think that’s Samas you’re talking to?” Tony asked. “You know Gibbs. Do you really think that’s a snake?”

“I think I’ve been fooled often enough to know I can’t distinguish between the host and the snake,” O’Neill said firmly, and that didn’t make any sense. O’Neill had gone against his standing orders and had let Gibbs keep running around. Tony’s stomach soured as he realized the truth.

“You’ve had a team on him.” Turning around, Tony put his fist into the wall and four perfect little craters appeared in the drywall. “How did you keep us from spotting them?”

Daniel was looking back and forth between them, but O’Neill gave a shrug. “We have resources you didn’t know to look for. But the fact is that Samas is a snake, and I’m getting him out of Gibbs.”

“Can you do with without hurting them?” Tony asked. “Because if you hurt Samas, Gibbs is going to be pretty determined to rearrange your face.” Tony didn’t add that Gibbs might even go farther. Gibbs tended to be a little dangerous when people in his protection died.

“We have friends,” O’Neill said, but a look of pure disgust crossed his face, “or we don’t have friends and we have allies who talk to us like we’re idiots, but they’re still helpful from time to time.”

“Kinda like politicians,” Tony commented.

O’Neill laughed.

“I’m still not going anywhere without Gibbs,” Tony warned him.

“You’re like a dog with a bone,” O’Neill said wearily. “And that’s a problem. I really could drop you in a cell right now, just for refusing to sign those contracts. No one really asks about the people I’ve managed to lose over the years.” The tone might be joking, but Tony had the distinct impression that O’Neill really had done exactly that.

“And then you’d have a pissed off Gibbs and you’d have Ziva and McGee coming after you. You really don’t want that kind of trouble.”

“I deal with that kind of trouble over my morning coffee,” O’Neill said, “so don’t think that I’m particularly afraid of taking on all three of them, four if you count Samas.”

“Yes, but how good are you at investigations?” Tony asked. This was his ace cart. “You have a person or several people using Earth resources to investigate Gibbs in order to try and figure out if he’s carrying Samas. So, how do you anticipate their next move? Which agencies or police departments would be open to helping you do a little sleuthing? Where do you find your clues?” Tony stopped, and watched the barely hidden frustration on O’Neill’s face.

Yeah, the man was a special ops soldier, but he didn’t know how to handle an investigation. Whatever he was in charge of, it wasn’t tracking down goa’uld on Earth. Either that, or he really sucked at his job, and O’Neill seemed too competent and confident for that to be true. Tony was really starting to wonder what this misfit crew of O’Neill’s did for regular work. Having a linguist on team suggested negotiations or hostile territory, but Tony didn’t have enough information to make a good call on this one. He needed to collect more intelligence.

“Jack, he’s right. We only got ahead of them this time because you already knew about Gibbs.”

O’Neill’s mouth tightened into an unhappy line.

“Look,” Tony said in his most conciliatory voice, “you’re Gibbs’ friend, which means you’re wrong about Samas, but you’re not trying to hurt Gibbs. That puts us almost on the same side. But these other people are hunting Gibbs, and you know I won’t stand for that. I want them. You want them. We could work together.”

“Only if you sign the confidentiality agreements,” O’Neill said a little too fast. Tony rewound the conversation and tried to figure out if O’Neill had intentionally led him to this offer. Maybe he had, the cagey old bastard.

“Forget it,” Tony said. “We get these guys, and then we negotiate about who gets told what.”

“There’s no negotiation,” O’Neill said firmly. “You sign or I drop you in a cell and feel bad about it while I’m fishing and pretty much don’t think about you any other time.”

Tony smiled. “I could use the down time. Gibbs is a real bastard, and I’ve been on-call twenty-four hours a day for a decade. It wears a guy out. Do you think I’ll get cable in that cell?”

“Jack,” Daniel said, drawing the name out the way a mother might. It was a pretty unambiguous warning, although Tony wasn’t sure what Daniel was warning Jack about.

“Daniel,” Jack said in the exact same tone. Yeah, these two had served together for a while.

Daniel gave an elaborate huff of frustration. “We can work together. Maybe if we can reach some common ground, we can compromise.”

“You say compromise like it’s a good thing,” Jack said, his own frustration showing through.

“Jack,” Daniel said more sharply.

Jack threw both hands up in the air in surrender. “Fine, we’ll work together.” O’Neill stood, and before Tony could react, he was right there in Tony’s face. “You will work with us, and help us track these snakes down. We will listen to your expertise, but you will obey all commands and stay by my side at all times or I will zat you, cuff you, and drop you in the trunk, and do not think I am joking about that.”

“I don’t think you’re joking at all,” Tony said. “One condition—Gibbs and Samas are safe until we’ve taken care of these bad guys. Oh, and I need to clear all this with Gibbs.”

“That’s two conditions. I swear. Kids these days, they can’t even count to two,” O’Neill said in an offended tone of voice. The man had an odd sense of humor. Tony didn’t have much time to think about that because O’Neill’s arm was around his shoulders. “So, let’s go talk to Gibbs, and then we’re on a snake hunt.”

Tony didn’t protest as O’Neill escorted him from the room, Daniel trailing behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony followed the armed Airman into the secure area. His temper started to rise the first time they’d gone through a card scanner, but three scanners, one retinal scanner and a crapload of barred windows later, Tony’s fury rolled under his skin. They had Gibbs locked up tighter than a fucking terrorist, and if Jack O’Neill were here, Tony would give him a piece of his mind.

Instead Tony had two anonymous airmen escorting him through barren hallways. They reached a reinforced steel door and the airman pulled out yet another locking key card before swinging it open. There were stairs leading down, and all natural light vanished as Tony headed down into a holding area.

One more door at the bottom of the stairs, and Tony was in a short hall with cells off to either side. Each had a reinforced plastic front with narrow slits to allow air circulation and communication. Tony’s blood ran cold as he spotted Gibbs sitting on the edge of a bunk in the first cell.

“Boss.”

Gibbs grinned at him. “Usually you’re the one in trouble.”

“Yeah, that had occurred to me.” Tony looked over to where the two airmen stood watching. In addition to the live guards, cameras covered both ends of the hall. “You’re not breaking out of here, are you?”

“Nope,” Gibbs agreed.

“So, O’Neill and I came to an agreement.”

Immediately, Gibbs was on his feet. Tony hurried to explain it all before Gibbs completely lost his temper. The good news was that he wouldn’t be handing out headslaps from behind security plexiglass.

“I have agreed to help with the investigation. In return, they’ll keep you here safe until we figure out who’s hunting you. We can figure out the whole mess with O’Neill and Samas later, but this way, they aren’t going to try to drag Samas out until we can talk.”

“You’re not working with them,” Gibbs said, his voice low and dangerous.

“Someone’s hunting you, boss.”

“They won’t find me here. If you go out there, you don’t know who you’re up against.”

“Then tell me,” Tony practically begged. He respected his boss’s desire to be an uncommunicative bastard, but this was going a little too far. Gibbs’ body language shifted and Samas stood on the other side of the plexiglass barrier.

“I don’t know who would hunt me,” Samas said. “My people died centuries ago. I don’t even know how long ago. I know from O’Neill that the ones I fought—many are dead, but I don’t know which of the minor goa’uld have risen to join their ranks. Bastet, Thoth, Ixtab, Selvans… it could be that any one of them has survived and moved up in the ranks. It could be none of them. Goa’uld born after I vanished may have risen.”

Tony tilted his head to the side. Samas didn’t believe that was likely. Why? Tony might have asked, only the guards and cameras made him a little hesitant. Instead, he said, “That’s even more of a reason to figure out who’s doing this. O’Neill doesn’t have the investigative experience we do, not on planet.”

That was a guess, but it was a damn good one.

“No,” Samas said firmly. “Goa’uld are abominations. If one claims you, it will destroy your mind and lock you inside your own body.”

“And if one finds you, it’s going to kill you, boss.”

Samas shrugged. “Doubt it.” At that moment, Tony had no idea who he was talking to. Both Gibbs and Samas seemed pretty damn fatalistic.

“You can’t ask me to sit on my hands while these bozos try to figure out who’s after you.”

“They’re decorated officers.”

“How do you know?”

Gibbs slid forward again. “Because O’Neill only works with the best. I don’t want you involved.”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

“Tony, you can’t fix this.”

“I could make a whole lot of noise,” Tony suggested.

Gibbs gave him a dirty look.

“Your call, boss. I can go figure this out or I can sit in another cell, hopefully one with cable, but I’m not going to go back to the office to pretend everything is okay. I won’t leave either of you.”

In a blink, Gibbs was gone and Samas stood there. “Your loyalty is gratifying, and it means more to Gibbs than he would say. But you cannot help me this way.”

Tony reined in his frustration. It was so like Gibbs to vanish the second emotions starting showing up. The man would rather deal with a psychotic serial killer than have a conversation about his feelings. “What should I do, Samas?”

“Go home,” Samas said, his voice sympathetic, even under the weird echo. “Keep an eye out for anyone who might target you. Call O’Neill if something seems suspicious.”

“Play bait?” Tony guessed.

“No,” Samas spit out the word like it tasted bad. “I do not want you to be bait at all. I only want you to be aware of the fact that others know we’re close. They may take an interest in you.”

“Take an interest?” Tony laughed. “The whole team knows I’ve stayed at your house a dozen times. For all our suspect knows, you’ve jumped out of Gibbs and into me.” Actually, now that Tony thought about it, that might be the best way to convince O’Neill that he was speaking to Gibbs. He could host Samas for a few hours and let Gibbs go kick O’Neill's ass the old fashioned way. Of course, that would require Samas to come out of Gibbs, and Tony suspected that a well-placed bullet would be the end of thousands of years of life. Where the goa’uld couldn’t kill Samas, O’Neill might.

“They do not think that way,” Samas said. “By staying in the human body as long as they do and fusing their bodies to their host, they have given up any chance to move freely between hosts. Transferring is done only under dire circumstances.”

“Like nearly getting caught by the government,” Tony asked.

Samas give him a weary look that just looked wrong on Gibbs. Gibbs didn’t do weary. “You are not to go after these goa’uld. I have lost my whole family to these monsters, and I will not lose you.” Samas reached up and rested his palm against the plexiglass.

“If you won’t let me go out there, then I will be helping them from inside the base because I will not leave without you.”

“I doubt O’Neill will give you a choice. Gibbs has strong memories of him.” Samas tilted his head and considered Tony. “Sometimes you remind him a little of O’Neill in the way you construct masks that hide a core of steel. But understand this, he is a powerful man with powerful allies. I suspect he could call the President right now. Do not underestimate him.”

“I’m not,” Tony said. O’Neill jokes didn’t distract him from the gravity of the situation. Hell, normally he’d be answering joke for joke, but he’d lost his sense of humor sometime after he found out that a parasite had tried to take over his brain. “I take him seriously when he threatened to send me to Gitmo and then lose the paperwork.”

All emotion drained from Samas’ face. He stood, jaw clenching, as he stared at Tony. It took him some time to find words again. “What did you say?” Samas asked slowly.

“You’re assuming I said something?” Tony asked defensively.

“Yes,” Samas answered without a second of hesitation.

“Fine. I told him that I wouldn’t sign his confidentiality agreements until I saw you walk out.”

Samas turned away, and the body language slid into Gibbs, and now he was striding away. He got to the back wall and punched the brick.

“You should do that with drywall so you don’t hurt youself.”

Gibbs whirled around. “I have Samas to heal me. I have Samas to give me advice and keep me from headslapping you into the middle of the week. More than that, I’ve lived my life, and I don’t have regrets or people I’m leaving behind. Damn it, DiNozzo, stop putting yourself in hot water with me. If I boil, it’s because of my choices. I don’t want to see you dying out of some misplaced loyalty.”

Considering this was Gibbs, that was downright wordy. Tony took several breaths and mentally sorted through the varied and ridiculous assumptions. While Tony wanted to start with the insane idea that Gibbs didn’t deserve to live as much as Tony did, he knew better. Since Tony lacked a degree in psychiatry and a few dozen decades, he moved on to the next argument.

“You have Samas, but I have you. I trust you, which is why I came down here before walking through the gates with O’Neill. If you tell me that I cannot go out in the field, I will follow your orders, boss. I always have.”

“You didn’t stay at the office when I ordered you to,” Gibbs pointed out.

“I follow orders until I don’t,” Tony said with a shrug. “However, I will follow an order to stay on base. I will not, under any circumstances, walk away without you. We have had each other’s sixes for too long, boss. If I walked out of here and never saw you again, that would be a regret I couldn’t live with. You are the one person I can’t leave behind because there sure as hell isn’t anyone else who would notice me missing other than Ziva and Tim. Well, my maid would notice I hadn’t come in to mess up the apartment, but I don’t plan to stick around for the maid.”

“Damn it, DiNozzo.” Gibbs stopped and pressed his lips together. Oh yeah, he was mad.

The guard who had escorted Tony down stepped forward, his boots loud against the concrete floors. “Colonel O’Neill has sent a message, sir,” he said. “He wants you to return to the upper level so that a logistical team can get in here to place a bunk bed and desk in the largest cell at the end.”

Tony sucked in a breath. Well that was remarkably unsubtle. Tony looked over, but Gibbs had a blank expression carefully masking whatever he felt. Tony could hear a faint muttering from a radio, and the guard spoke again.

“Unless you would like a separate cell, in which case O’Neill said you could have your pick and linens would be delivered later.” The guard looked mildly confused, but Tony didn’t blame him. Usually you didn’t give prisoners these sorts of choices. Tony risked one more glance in Gibbs’ direction.

“The bunk beds will be fine,” Tony said.

The guard gave a curt nod and didn’t even pretend to pass on the message. Tony looked up at the cameras and gave O’Neill a quick wave.

“This way, sir.” The guard gestured toward the stairs. He was far more wary now that Tony had become a prisoner instead of a visitor. That was fine. Tony didn’t have any illusions about being able to break out of this place. He went where directed and hoped that when he got put in the same cell with Gibbs that the man didn’t headslap him hard enough to shake his brain loose.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony stood up from the desk and stretched his back. And in the process, he nearly hit Gibbs. The cell was larger, but not really large enough for the desk, computer, large whiteboard they were using to pin clues up, bunk beds and two chairs. Tony gave Gibbs a small smile of apology.

“It has to be someone who knows Gibbs,” Tony said as he grabbed the edge of the bed and started stretching. “There’s a clear pattern of someone working backwards to try and trace your life, but I don’t know why they don’t just grab you if they suspect you have Samas.”

Gibbs shook his head. “These people have resources. If they even suspected I had Samas, they would have grabbed me, and there wouldn’t have been a damn thing I could do about it.”

“Well they’re working backward into your life. The first victim was Williamson.” Tony walked to the board and tapped it. “He was part of the Suzanne McNeil case we had—God, it must have been nearly two years ago now. You remember, the bomb tech who got buried alive, had amnesia and then blew herself and her boyfriend to smithereens.”

Gibbs nodded without adding anything to the discussion.

They had to figure this out, because O’Neill’s group seemed far too quick to rely on their technology for everything, and without a lead, they just sort of watched and scanned. It was like having a team of all Timmies. Okay, O’Neill and Murray weren’t Tim, but they tended to wander around after Carter as they waited for her computers to fix everything. If he and Gibbs ran their team that way, nothing would get done.

“They don’t know where to find me,” Samas said. “Of this I am sure.”

“Okay.” Tony stepped back and looked at the board. “But they know Gibbs is involved.”

“And if I did not reveal that, then something else in Gibbs’ life made it clear that he had access to me.”

“Your surveillance equipment,” Tony blurted out.

Samas looked at him. “I only use passive surveillance to avoid detection.”

“If there’s one thing I know from working with Tim it’s this. If you have tech, you have a security problem. Period. Full stop. How many times has Tim broken into supposedly secure networks?” Tony flinched. Way to out his probie to the federal government. Well, too late to do anything now except ignore the blunder and hope whoever was watching the security feeds didn’t notice.

Samas morphed into Gibbs. “If they suspected I had tech, they would have wanted to confirm that it was alien and not human.”

“Which meant they would have been in your house.” Tony felt that tightening in his gut that came with a really good lead.

Gibbs looked up at the camera. “I need to see O’Neill in here now,” he said in that tone of voice that meant people would die if someone didn’t obey. Tony leaned against the wall, his gut singing as he realized they finally had a clue. If someone stepped foot in Gibbs’ house, they’d find the trace evidence.

 

Tony had to give O’Neill credit. The man could get the military to move at a pace that Tony would have described as impossible. Getting him to believe that Tony and Gibbs needed to process the scene took longer than assembling the guards, the transportation, and the crime scene unit. A little over an hour later, they were in the back of a van along with O’Neill’s team and a half dozen special ops guys who were from the dark ops end of the pool—they didn’t have any marks on their fatigues that would have given away which branch they served in, much less a unit. It was a little over the top to secure a crime scene, but Tony suspected that O’Neill worried more about securing them.

“They are allies, but they are potentially compromised, so do not let them out of your sight,” O’Neill ordered the well-armed team. Most of them looked more confused than anything. Tony and Gibbs probably didn’t look like much of a threat.

O’Neill continued. “Gibbs kicked my ass last time we were in the field together. Luckily it turned out we were both on the same mission, sent independently because someone thought Gibbs was dead.”

“I’m harder to kill than that,” Gibbs added.

O’Neill gave him an odd look. “Do not underestimate him,” he told the soldiers, his gaze still on Gibbs. “He has more training than anyone in this van except me, and he will kick your ass if you’re not on guard. If he has been compromised, we cannot afford to let him loose in this area. Clear?”

The team answered with a chorus of enthusiastic, “Yes, sir.”

Finally O’Neill leaned toward them. “Letting you in the field is a huge risk, and I would rather explain why you’re dead or in the infirmary than I would explain why you’re running loose. Clear?”

Tony felt cold fear wash through him. This was O’Neill with all the jokes stripped away, and he was just as terrifying as Gibbs.

“Crystal,” Gibbs answered for both of them.

O’Neill leaned back and clapped his hands, and that façade of his slipped right back in place. “Excellent. So let’s see if our bad guys left us any evidence.” He rubbed his hands together and grinned before reaching for the van door. Tony had seen soldiers riding the edge of sanity before, but O’Neill scared him a little more than most of them. Then again, most weren’t personally invested in making Gibbs’ life miserable, and O’Neill was.

Tony followed two members of the team into Gibbs’ house, Gibbs right behind him. When they got to the basement stairs, Tony reached out and grabbed one. “Hold on.”

The man whirled on him, his weapon coming up.

Tony raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa there, Speed Racer. You’re about to walk into a crime scene, and unless you’re trained on ways to avoid fucking up the scene, you really need to guard from behind the crime scene techs. I don’t go out and single handedly save the world, you don’t walk on my crime scene,” Tony said. “God, it’s worse than having a dozen probies. Boss, you want left or right?”

“Right,” Gibbs said. He set his bag down and pulled out gloves. Tony knelt down to do the same, acutely aware of the eyes watching him.

“So, here’s how it goes,” Tony said as he looked up. He kept kneeling on the floor looking through his evidence bag as he talked. It reduced the tension when people felt in control, and Tony wasn’t above manipulating these guys to make them feel a little more powerful. “We will clear the scene, and you need to stay at least four feet behind where we’re working. I don’t have to impress on you the total embarrassment of spending two days investigating a boot tread only to find you’re chasing your own boots, do I?” Tony grinned up at them. “Of course, in my defense, I was a month out of the academy at the time. If I did that now, Gibbs would headslap me.”

“I’d fire you,” Gibbs corrected him.

“Gee, thanks, boss.”

Gibbs shrugged. “Luckily you aren’t that stupid.” He looked around at the rest of the team, making it very clear he did consider all of them just that stupid. Either Tony’s words or Gibbs’ glare worked because the two in front stepped to the side and allowed Tony and Gibbs access.

Tony moved onto the stairs, focusing on the railing to his left. Gibbs took the wall on the right. The environment was good for evidence. The rough wood had caught any number of fibers and Tony collected two shoe prints off the risers. He focused on his job so much that he didn’t realize he had reached the bottom until he looked up to find three special ops team members standing on the stairs, and Gibbs working his way across the floor.

“I’ve got twenty two fiber samples and two shoe prints,” Tony said. “No fingerprints.”

“Nine and six,” Gibbs said.

Tony nodded. It was a lot, and without Abby, they were going to have to trust O’Neill to bring in a good forensics tech. O’Neill. Shit. Tony looked up at the team. “Tell O’Neill we’re going to need a boot print from whatever he wore yesterday so we can eliminate him from the suspect evidence.”

“About time,” Gibbs groused.

“I’m having an off day,” Tony shot back. This felt good. Before Blackadder got added to the team in the wake of 9-11, he and Gibbs had worked cases together, just the two of them. They’d had a rhythm that hadn’t really been the same. In some ways they were better with a team. Kate brought a compassion that he and Gibbs lacked together. Tony still ached for her, but she was gone. And Ziva didn’t have that same energy. She was a great ninja, and Tony suspected she would become a great investigator, but Kate had been their heart.

When Ziva had invited everyone to her house for dinner except him, that had pretty much proven that. Tim had been gleeful to be one of the popular kids for a change, not even thinking about the damage to Tony’s ego. The only thing that had salvaged Tony’s sense of team was Gibbs. He’d sabotaged Tony’s car, and when everyone had gone home, announced he’d done it so that he could take Tony out for dinner without Tony running away. Passive aggressive? Hell yes, but Gibbs had done that for him. Ziva and Tim weren’t his partners the way Gibbs was… the way Kate had been.

“Tony?” Gibbs stood and looked over at him.

“Just being maudlin,” Tony admitted as he went back to working on the back wall of the basement while Gibbs worked his way around the boat and toward the bench. Gibbs always had done that—known the second Tony lost his emotional balance. After he’d been forced to kill Jeffery White, Gibbs had shown up at his apartment with pizza and beer and had just invited himself for an impromptu marathon of John Wayne movies. They hadn’t said more than a dozen words all night, and most of those involved “pass the beer,” but it had helped Tony find his balance again. It was uncanny the way Gibbs had known things, but Tony had grown used to Gibbs being damn near superhuman.

As he worked, he reviewed his knowledge of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Gibbs always knew his mental state and when to push in versus when to pull back. Tony would be tempted to go for telepathy, only Gibbs had never shown any hint of knowing all the sexual fantasies Tony indulged in on a regular basis. So empathy maybe… a way to judge emotional states. That would explain why Gibbs was always accusing him of chasing women, even though women were not the center of his frequent office fantasies. Hell, it wasn’t like he had much sex at all. Flirting, like kneeling on the floor when telling covert ops guys how to do their jobs, was a strategy. It got him information he wanted.

But it was more. Gibbs would sometimes need glasses so badly that he couldn’t see a damn thing, but then he’d turn around and pull off a sniper shot that only one sniper in a thousand would even attempt. He was terrifyingly silent, but that could be covert ops training. O’Neill’s footsteps were often impossibly to track, especially when he had Daniel stomping around beside him. However there was no doubt that Gibbs was getting some sort of upgrade out of this.

Tony stood up and stretched his back. After turning the light off on his magnifying glass, he asked Gibbs, “So, you pin any beautiful women up against this wall lately?”

“DiNozzo,” Gibbs growled, the threat palpable.

Tony held up his evidence tweezers. “Red silk. Of course it could be that you were twirling around in a nice red silk number around as you worked on the boat.” Tony tucked the fiber into a bag as he watched Gibbs fight through the frustration and amusement. If they had been alone, Tony would have asked which of them was amused and which frustrated. One of the soldiers snickered.

“Red silk’s not my thing,” Gibbs finally said. “Where was it?” He came over to join Tony near the hidden door to the computer equipment.

Tony used the end of his tweezers to tap the exact spot, and then he moved close to the wall and awkwardly half squatted and leaned forward until his knees touched the wall. “Either he bent his knees and leaned into it or—”

“It was a woman,” Gibbs said as he crouched down to study the spot.

“Her skirt hung out away from her body as she searched the wall for the hidden catch.”

“Stand straight.” Gibbs gave Tony’s thigh a slap, and Tony jumped. Gibbs eyed him and then the wall before putting his hand just below Tony’s knee. “No matter how tall she was, this was not a short skirt.”

“So we were right. Someone was looking for your tech.”

Gibbs grunted, which was as much of an affirmation as Tony usually got.

“If this was a woman, either she has huge feet and likes to wear men’s shoes with her red silk dress or we’re missing something. I didn’t see any women’s shoes, boss.” Tony couldn’t have missed that. He wouldn’t have. Seeing evidence of a woman in his boss’s house would be noteworthy, even if they weren’t on a case.

“Right there,” Gibbs pointed to the narrow toed imprint of a woman’s shoe near the hidden door.

“So she left a print here, but she didn’t leave any walking in? I’m not buying it. No offense, boss, but this place isn’t the cleanest.”

“It’s a workshop.”

“Exactly. And she didn’t leave any prints in the dust?” Tony took out the camera first, photographing the footprint before attempting to take the print.

“I don’t think she used the stairs.”

“What? You mean you have more hidden passages down here? That’s very Bela Lugosi of you boss.”

“DiNozzo!” Tony looked up to see O’Neill on the stairs. Thank god he hadn’t started taking the print yet.

“Good. Are those the boots you had on yesterday?” Tony started grabbing for clean transfer paper.

“What? Yes. Why?” O’Neill frowned at him.

“Good.” Tony grabbed the pressure paper and headed up the stairs, stopping a couple of risers below O’Neill. “I need you to step down on this and put your full weight. I’ll need both boots.”

“What are you doing?” O’Neill demanded. “And you. Why are you up here when those two are down there?”

The soldiers all stood a little straighter. “Sir, they asked us to not contaminate the scene.”

“For cryin’ out loud. Do you always listen to the people you’re ordered to guard?”

“Sir, no sir,” one snapped out.

“And the people they’re guarding aren’t usually federal employees just like them,” Tony said.

O’Neill gave him a long look. “You’d be surprised,” he said dryly.

Tony narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out that level of in-fighting into his new view of the world. Meanwhile, the soldiers were coming downstairs and taking positions in the corners Tony and Gibbs had cleared.

“I still need a boot print from you so we can eliminate your prints from potential suspects,” Tony said. He set the pressure paper and the base down on the step below O’Neill. “Step down on this and put your full weight on it.” O’Neill sighed, but he did comply with that print and a second one of his left boot.

“Are we done?”

“Yep,” Tony said. He took his samples and went to head back down the stairs.

“Not so fast, DiNozzo. You have to come deal with a situation.”

“What situation?” Gibbs demanded as he stood up and moved toward the stairs. The soldiers on the stairs shifted, and Tony held his breath.

“A Daveed and McGee situation,” O’Neill said, drawing out Ziva’s last name enough to make it clear that he’d already been corrected on the pronunciation. “Apparently they asked neighbors to alert them to any activity.”

“And us showing up with half an army constitutes activity,” Tony said with a sigh. “I’ve got this, boss.”

Gibbs crossed his arms over his chest. “I expect you to keep them clear of this, DiNozzo.”

“Yeah, what he said,” O’Neill added.

Tony gave O’Neill a fake grin. “You’re just lucky I take his orders because I think I’ve proven I don’t take yours.” With that, Tony headed past O’Neill and trotted up the stairs.

Behind him, O’Neill was saying, “I don’t see how you avoid the temptation to shoot him.”

Tony didn’t have time to listen to Gibbs’ answer—he headed out to the front lawn, and sure enough, McGeek and Ziva stood near an NCIS issued car, and a half dozen guards covered them. Murray even stood near the van looking supremely prepared to shoot everyone if that’s what it took to accomplish the mission. At least no one had pulled out weapons. Yet.

“Hey guys!” Tony called out brightly. This was so going to suck.


	8. Chapter 8

“Tony!” Tim called his name across the lawn.

“McNosy and my favorite ninja. Hey, that’s a great name for a TV series,” Tony said as he trotted over to them.

“Where have you been?” Ziva demanded. She did that a lot, but Tony just grinned and let it slide. She was highly ranked in Mossad, and he suspected she was used to calling the shots on the team. However, until her shots included asking questions before hitting, she would be low man on their totem pole.

“With Gibbs.”

“You found him.” Tim sounded supremely relieved.

“Of course I found him. This is me we’re talking about.”

Ziva’s gaze slid right past him and focused on the front door. “Where is he?”

“Working a scene,” Tony said. “A secure scene you don’t have clearance to enter,” Tony added the second Ziva’s mouth came open. Even if she had been a regular old probie, he wouldn’t have let her onto this scene. She had less than a year’s experience with processing scenes, and they didn’t need more feet in there complicating matters.

“What?” Tim pulled back. “We’re Gibbs’ team too.”

Tony felt a flash of guilt because he knew how much Tim still needed Gibbs reassurance to bolster that damaged ego of his. “Yeah, well we aren’t calling the shots on this one, so I can’t clear you to work it, and neither can Gibbs. You can tell Madam Director that the coincidences with Gibbs’ past weren’t coincidence. This is an Air Force investigation now, and they’re letting us trail along. Hell, if it weren’t for the fact that Gibbs seems to be the suspect’s target, these people wouldn’t have let us near the investigation. Some colonel Gibbs knew back in his covert ops days is running the show.”

“They let you into the investigation, but they will block us?” Ziva didn’t even pretend to hide her feelings.

“I walked into the middle of it and saw classified material before they could stop me. You, however, are very stoppable,” Tony pointed out.

Ziva eyed the door like she was considering running for it.

“Go back,” Tony said firmly. “Have Director Shepard give the Air Force a call and try and get them to share the investigation. Until then, these guys have the higher clearance. However, keep in mind that they’re keeping Gibbs as a material witness even if he stops cooperating. So the director has to be careful on this one.”

Ziva rolled her eyes. “Yes, she needs your advice on swimming in political oceans,” she said dismissively.

Tony sighed. “I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to cook that meal for the two of us,” he said.

She blinked at him, clearly surprised. Maybe she thought he had forgotten her offer just because he hadn’t brought it up in the last few weeks. She looked over toward Tim, and then she moved toward him, fast, pushing him back toward the house. Tony watched as the guards shifted to prevent her from entering, but she stopped near Gibbs’ car in the driveway.

“Tony,” she said in a low whisper. “I know I have made things difficult between us because I am not good at being a learnee, and I have much to learn with investigations. It sometimes annoys me that I must learn from one such as you.”

“Thanks,” Tony said dryly. Leave it to Ziva to make an apology sound like an accusation.

She glared at him. “But what I will say, I say not out of disrespect but knowledge. Gibbs has many things in his past which you are not prepared to deal with. If this is about his covert ops days, you should have me there to back with you. This is a world you do not know any more than I know of investigating without infringing on constitutional rights,” Ziva said, pronouncing the words carefully.

“Ziva,” Tony said slowly.

“I should be with him,” she said, her frustration making her words sharp.

“You should,” Tony agreed, “but you can’t be. And in case you haven’t noticed, there are plenty of covert ops guys around. They are doing the heavy lifting. The only way Gibbs talked them into this field trip was by pointing out that he would have a better chance of finding evidence than anyone else, both because of his field experience and because it’s his house so he knows if something’s out of place. Trust me, if it weren’t for that argument, we would still be safely tucked away in the center of a secure base with hundreds of soldiers between us and whatever this is from Gibbs’ past.”

Ziva narrowed her eyes. “You expect me to believe Gibbs was allowing others to search while he stayed at the base?”

“Well, there might have been a little verbal altercation with O’Neill and a cell involved,” Tony admitted. That was as close to the truth as he was getting. She still had her determined-ninja face on. “This is so far beyond my pay grade that I really can’t talk about it. Have the director try and work with the Air Force—that’s all I can tell you.”

“And you are staying with Gibbs?”

“They can’t get me to leave, and trust me, they’ve tried.”

Ziva frowned, but the hard lines faded from her expression. “Gibbs has been in many difficult situations with people greatly talented at making others dead.”

“Yeah, I noticed, Ziva.”

She gave him a concerned look. Leaning forward, she rested a hand on his shoulder. “Gibbs’ enemies abroad are far more dangerous—far more, how do you say… invisible.”

Tony sighed. They’d worked together for months, and she still assumed he was clueless. He’d be more upset if he hadn’t cultivated his own clueless façade very intentionally. “I know more than I let on, Ziva. Trust me, I know a lot more.”

“We should work together, both of us at Gibbs’ back,” she said.

Tony was tempted, but the fact that Gibbs would kill him made the choice a little easier. “Ask Director Shepard to get the Air Force’s cooperation.”

An Israeli curse flew out her mouth and she slapped Gibbs’ car hard enough that Tony flinched. That was going to hurt. Several of the soldiers had shifted into better positions to cover her, and Murray had out what looked like an alien gun. Subtle. Then again, Ziva wasn’t winning any subtle awards either.

“You act like I am an enemy, that you must keep Gibbs from me, but he chose me,” she snarled at him.

“I know that.”

“Then stop acting like I am good for nothing but to kill.”

“I don’t.” She had trapped Tony up against the side of Gibbs’ car, and Tony shoved at her. She pressed her lips together and didn’t move.

“Yes, you do. You act like a child or a jealous lover,” she snapped.

“I act like a man trying to have his partner’s back.”

“You do not have to cover Gibbs from me,” she said, and technically that sentence didn’t make a lot of sense, but Tony did understand what she was trying to say. In the past, maybe he had been a little suspicious of her and the specific circumstances around her joining the team. Maybe. Just a little. But things were different now.

“Ziva, I never…” Tony let out a sigh even as she glared at him. “Okay, perhaps I was a little mistrustful at first.”

“A little?” She crossed her arms.

“Yes, a little. You had some issues with us, if you remember. But this is not about trust. These people will never give you clearance without some serious political muscle forcing them to. Neither of us has that clout. More importantly, Gibbs ordered me to keep you and Tim clear of this mess. He has his guilt turned up too high.”

“But you he wants in there?” Ziva did nothing to hide her disbelief.

“No, he wants me out and safe too; however, I saw enough classified material that it isn’t going to happen.”

Ziva tilted her head and studied him. “Programs have contingencies for inadvertent disclosures, especially when the one who sees too much already has clearance.”

“Yes, the non-disclosure agreements,” Tony nodded. “The ones I refused to sign because if I did, they would force me to leave Gibbs, so instead I told them I wouldn’t sign and I threatened to make a very public fuss if they didn’t either release Gibbs or let me stay with him.”

For a long minute, Ziva stared at him, her lips slightly parted. “You… you refused?” she asked.

Tony nodded his head.

“You idiotic man-child,” she nearly shouted before falling back into more Israeli cursing. At least Tony assumed they were curses. That was the tone of voice she had going. “How could you put yourself in a such tight position?” she demanded. “Do you have any idea what people do to those who make themselves threats?”

Tony leaned close and whispered, “Right now, I’m a goofy threat. I may be a man-child, but it works for me, Ziva, and I will have Gibbs’ back.”

Ziva frowned at him for a second, but with a long sigh, she seemed to yield. “You will explain this to Tim.”

“No I won’t,” Tony said, “I’ll just order him back to the yard. Unlike some people, he listens to orders from goofy man-children.” She rolled her eyes.

When Tony turned to look over, he noticed soldiers shifting, and Murray had moved to a spot right next to the door. “Ziva, wait here,” Tony said.

“But—”

He was already racing for Gibbs’ house, ignoring Murray, who only watched him with one eyebrow raised. The guards on the basement had their weapons up, and they pointed them at Tony, but he ignored them. He focused on O’Neill, who stood on the top of the stairs looking down. “What’s wrong?”

Tony looked past him to see Gibbs standing in an artificial glow. “Gibbs?”

“Stay back,” Gibbs ordered him.

O’Neill caught his arm to keep him from storming past the guards on the steps. “Carter is doing everything she can to prevent them from locking on.”

“Who? What are they trying to do?”

O’Neill’s face was set in grim lines. Behind him, Tony could hear Ziva yelling, but she wasn’t coming any closer, so someone had successfully stopped her at the door. Good for someone; Ziva wasn’t that easy to stop.

“They’re trying to get a lock on him and beam him out of here.”

Relief flood through Tony’s system. “Oh thank God.”

Both O’Neill’s eyebrows went up.

“Taken is not dead, but it would be great if Carter could, you know, stop it.”

“And if he’s taken, how do you plan to find him?”

“If he’s taken, I plan to feel sorry for the asshole who takes him,” Tony said. Below, Gibbs gave a rough laugh.

“You’re dangerously uninformed,” O’Neill said. He touched his ear. “Carter, this is getting a little old.”

She said something that made O’Neill let go of Tony’s arm and lean forward to peer down at Gibbs. “She said something here is boosting the signal.”

“That would be the rings I just found installed in my floor,” Gibbs said. “They’re covered too well for it to be recent. Cases sometimes take us out of town or out to sea, so I’m guessing they did some redecorating.”

“Well crap,” O’Neill said. “Carter, we’re dealing with a set of rings here.” He paused to listen. “Yeah, I figured.”

“Makes it harder to block the signal, doesn’t it?” Gibbs asked.

“Exponentially,” O’Neill agreed.

Tony cleared his throat to get people’s attention. “Other than Lord of the Rings references that probably don’t apply, I am not understanding what’s going on.”

Gibbs gestured toward the floor. “There is a ring transportation device under me.”

“Well then, step off it,” Tony suggested.

Gibbs gave him a blistering look, and reached out. His hand hit something that made the air shimmer.

“Force fields? Really?” Tony asked. “Okay, what can I do to help, boss?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Rings came around after Samas’ time. He has no idea, and he doesn’t have time to try and research the tech. We wait for Carter.”

Tony looked at O’Neill, and for the first time, the man had some honest sympathy in his face. “She’s good. She’s working it, and she’s good.”

That wasn’t, Tony noticed, a problem.

“Okay, if she fails, what happens?”

O’Neill clenched his teeth until his jaw bulged.

Gibbs paced the small circle. “Tony, the chances are that they’ll never find me. There are too many system lords.”

“There are fewer than there used to be,” O’Neill said with a grin.

“Great, and does that help us right now?” Tony demanded.

O’Neill opened his mouth, but it was Samas who answered, his voice loud and booming. “Enough, Tony.”

Tony closed his mouth and looked down at Samas.

“You will not antagonize Colonel O’Neill. You will not endanger this planet by revealing secrets, and you will not endanger yourself—not for us. I understand your loyalty as well as I understand the unwavering loyalty of Gibbs, but you will gain nothing and lose everything if you persist in this course.” Samas shifted slightly and looked at O’Neill. “His loyalty is as unflagging is as his mouth is annoying, but before you judge him, look in the mirror.” Samas gave a little head tilt that made his opinion of O’Neill perfect clear.

“I don’t take orders from snakes,” O’Neill said.

“Then know that this is from Gibbs as well as me. He is simply less likely to say such words out of fear of having you ignore them or do the opposite out of an irrational hate. We both remember your illogical hatred for the Soviets, yes?”

O’Neill shook his head. “Don’t talk to me like you know me.”

“But I do. I had joined with Gibbs before we met in Columbia. Is that not the reason you came here to investigate, because you remembered what I could do? We slept in the same hut, shared food, shared a fire, all before you even knew what an onac was.”

There wasn’t a bit of emotion on O’Neill’s face, and Samas started up at him, equally emotionless. It was like watching a National Geographic show about two alpha males about to kill each other. Something made the floor of the basement vibrate so badly that dust particles rose into the air and tools slid off the tool bench and clattered to the floor.

“Shit, Carter’s losing the signal,” O’Neill said.

“Don’t take out irrational hate on a federal agent who did his job and did it well,” Gibbs said. Even through the veil of dust that swirled through the air, Tony could see the shift in body language. Gibbs had never been that direct with a compliment, and it was too close to a goodbye.

A metal ring rose from the basement and then another and another, and Tony eyed the distance between the landing and the top metal ring. It was entirely possible that he was about to make a fool out of himself and bounce off a force field, but he wasn’t leaving his boss.

Giving O’Neill a hard shove, Tony vaulted up to the rail and then leaped toward the narrow opening at the top of the rings. He was almost surprised when his foot hit the top ring and then he started sliding toward the inside. Power whined and Gibbs looked up, his face horrified as Tony fell straight toward him. Then they were both enveloped in a light, and Tony closed his eyes as he landed, taking both of them to the floor.

When he opened his eyes, he was mostly on top of a very cranky Gibbs, and the rings were lifting up and vanishing into the ceiling. That left them alone with a whole shitload of strange warriors who were pointing long weapons at them.

Tony rolled off Gibbs, but other than that, he tried hard to not move at all. These guys didn’t look like the joking types, so Tony showed them the flat of his hands.

“What is the meaning of this?” Samas demanded in a booming voice as he climbed to his feet. He spared Tony one truly withering glare.

One of the largest warriors stepped forward, his weapon pointed right at Samas’ neck. “You are a prisoner of the Lord Ba’al. You will yield or die.”

“We’re not in Kansas anymore,” Tony muttered to himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony wondered how these guys got any soldiering done what with all the clanking of armor and the banging of oversized metal shoes. However, as far as guards went, they had the whole intimidation thing down.

One stopped and touched some sort of control panel and a door slid open. “In here.”

“I expect an audience with Lord Ba’al soon,” Samas said with an arrogance Tony didn’t normally see from Samas or Gibbs.

“You will serve at his pleasure,” the guard said. Tony didn’t get even that much courtesy. One of the guards behind him gave him a well-placed shove, and Tony stumbled into the cell. Like the hallways, the cell had strange geometric designs and a faint metallic gold that would have been pretty if it weren’t a prison cell.

Samas walked into the cell under his own steam and then turned and gave the guards a disdainful look. The guard closed the door without comment.

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my,” Tony said softly. “Welcome to over the rainbow.”

Samas slowly turned, that arrogance still in place as he looked at Tony with a closely held fury. “In what universe was that even remotely logical?” he demanded.

Tony cleared his throat as he fought back a little twinge of fear at the absolute fury in Samas’ face. Oh yeah. He was pissed. Worse, Tony suspected Gibbs wasn’t coming out because he was even more angry. Tony forced himself to give a casual shrug. He’d had Gibbs pissed at him more than once, and he’d survived. “In my world where no one should have to go through shit alone,” Tony said honestly.

“So, it’s better to suffer with me, to hand Ba’al a tool by which he can manipulate me?”

Tony took a breath as he thought about that. “No human can hold out against torture forever. Is that true of your people as well?”

Samas narrowed his eyes, but eventually he did have to nod.

“Then I’ve changed the timeline, not the outcome,” Tony said. “I know I won’t hold out as long as Gibbs or you, but if Ba’al is interested in torture, then the outcome isn’t in doubt.”

Samas lifted his chin. “I can end myself and Gibbs at any time if we believe that is the best course.”

Tony nodded. “Then you can end me as well.”

The flash of pain on Samas’ face was a surprise.

“Look, boss, I never made any excuses about the fact that I get obsessed with people and I don’t let go. Ever. You knew that when you hired me—both of you knew that. People think my joking is my worst habit. It isn’t—not by a longshot. So if you want me to be sorry that I came or sorry that I might die here, you’re going to be waiting for pretty much forever.” Tony gave a sheepish shrug.

Samas sighed, and the body language shifted into Gibbs. “I should headslap you into next week.”

“And I would still be there on your six, boss, and you know it.”

Gibbs sighed and went over to a long bench that lined one wall to sit down. Tony wandered closer, but he leaned against the wall without sitting. Right now, he was too wired to sit. “Are we on a ship?” Tony asked.

Gibbs nodded. “We’ve broken out of Earth orbit by now, and we’re probably getting ready to go into hyperspace.”

“Well that’s very sci fi. Does the Air Force ships they can use to follow?”

“No ships and no way to follow.” Gibbs looked up and gave Tony a very unhappy look. “So, if we want out of this, the three of us have to figure it out.”

Tony gave his best cheeky grin. “No problem. I haven’t met the bad guy I couldn’t beat.”

Gibbs was not amused.

Tony watched as Gibbs stared at the wall. Hell, maybe he was talking to Samas. Maybe Samas had some idea why this was happening, because none of it made sense. Samas didn’t even know how the ring thingies worked, so he wasn’t some technical genius worth kidnapping, and if he’d been in Gibbs for all these years, he wasn’t an active player in any political games. Tony was trying to put together a puzzle, and all the edge pieces were gone.

“Boss, what is going on with this Ba’al?”

Gibbs glanced over. “I honestly don’t know, Tony. Samas has been out of the loop for a few thousand years.”

So Samas had been missing a few thousand years, but someone was willing to put this much energy into tracking him down and grabbing him? Yeah, that didn’t make sense. “But these guys… they’re going to a lot of trouble to get to someone who’s been MIA for a few thousand years.”

Gibbs sighed and just looked at Tony.

“Boss?”

Gibbs shifted, and the body language softened as Samas moved forward.

“Samas?” Tony asked. “Don’t shut me out here.”

Samas smiled at him. “I don’t know how you can identify which of is in control so easily.”

“I’ve been on Gibbs’ six for a long time. I know him better than I know myself. Hell, I know him better than he knows himself.”

“That may be true.” His lips twitched up into a wry smile. Tony started. So many times he had played the clown just to earn one smile from Gibbs. Now he realized that the sly smile he had always been so proud of inspiring in Gibbs had really been Samas.

Tony made an educated guess. “So, have you been keeping secrets from him, or is he keeping this secret from me?”

Samas took a deep breath. “He did not want to share my secrets.” Bingo. They did know why this Ba’al would want him so badly.

“But that’s okay now that you’re here. You can share them,” Tony said happily.

Samas gave him a weary look, one that suggested he questioned Tony’s sanity. “They are only a source of anxiety. I fear my secrets will get us both killed, Tony, and I wish I could see another outcome, but I cannot.”

“Maybe you should share with the class. Maybe I’ll come up with some crazy outside-the-box plan that will fix everything. I’ve been known to do that once or twice, if you remember.”

Samas laughed, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “I wish that were the case.”

“Try. You can’t lose anything by giving me a chance.”

Samas studied him for a long time. “You will not have a solution for this. However, you do deserve the truth.”

“Exactly,” Tony quickly agreed. Wow. The alien snake in Gibbs’ head was the reasonable one… who knew.

Samas gave him another long-suffering stare. “Onac are predators who live in open water. They hunt and compete fiercely for resources, food, and the attention of the few breeding queens. They do join with hosts, but after a time, they leave the host to return to the water and share tales of their adventures in the hope of impressing others and gaining the approval of a queen.”

“So, a little like National Geographic meets Waterworld,” Tony said.

Samas ignored him and continued with his story. “In adapting to a live permanently inside a host body, the goa’uld weakened themselves. Several of the queens, including Hathor, Sekhmet, Egeria and Aruru rebelled against the practice. They wished for the onac to return to the water to live at least part of their lives.”

Tony sucked air in through his teeth. That sounded like a political battle royale, particularly if the queens were the big power in the water. Tony was betting the males were a little more invested in staying in human bodies where they got to keep the power for themselves. “I’m assuming this doesn’t end well for the ladies?”

“The queens are not ladies, not by any definition you or Gibbs would use. However, the rebellion ended disastrously. Aruru was killed. Lord Yu, rumored to be aligned with her, lost much of his territory. Hathor and Sekhmet were imprisoned and left to go insane. Egeria escaped long enough to hatch a clutch of onac eggs and she gave them the genetic memories that would help them realize the true atrocity of goa’uld choices, but then she too was captured. The other goa’uld feared that the queens could raise an army if they could control the genetic memories, so they weakened the species by imprisoning the remaining breeding queens and chemically… modifying… them.”

“That sounds like a nice euphemism for torture and castration.”

“Very close,” Samas agreed.

Tony could feel the disgust roll through him. Okay, if O’Neill was used to dealing with goa’uld, Tony could almost understand his general level of assholiness. Torturing and modifying women in order to keep power put goa’uld on his ‘hate without a second thought’ list right next to the Taliban. “Was this before or after the igigi had their rebellion?”

“Many years before,” Samas said. “When the goa’uld realized that they had damaged the genetic lines, they brought in the igigi to try and create healthy offspring.”

“Did it work?”

Samas nodded miserably. “Yes, until I discovered what they were doing.” Samas’ mouth twisted up into a cruel smile. “They had underestimated what I could do, and it didn’t end well for them when I led my igigi against them.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It ended even less well for me and my group.”

“You discovered what they were doing?” Tony’s brain started spinning like a gerbil caught on a wheel. “You discovered what they were doing, and you led your group?” Tony struggled to find a delicate way to ask a pretty ridiculous question. Before he could ask, Samas nodded.

“Yes, I am the igigi queen. My early children became test subjects so the goa’uld could fix their own genetic lines. My later children led a rebellion against the goa’uld and they died for it. However, they forgot that as a queen, I have all those traits they wish for themselves. My hosts will not live forever, but as long as I do not spend too much time inside a host body with the toxins that build up inside a creature designed to age and die, I can live, potentially forever. I can hunt, swim, escape—all without the help of a host.” Samas looked around the room. “Unless I am prevented from reaching a large body of water.”

Tony’s brain seemed to have taken a time out. He could only stare and struggle to get his tongue to come up with a response. Any response. “So, Gibbs has a woman inside him? Huh. I didn’t think Gibbs did well with women.” Okay, that was not the best response.

Samas grinned. “I doubt the concept of male and female applies. I don’t have genitals. I either bite or eat onac I find desirable. I absorb their memories along with their DNA and then use that to create offspring.”

Tony grimaced.

“Gibbs feels the same. However, he still respects that my children are mine. I grieve for them as surely as he grieves for his.”

“Kelly,” Tony said softly. He would never say that name around Gibbs, but Samas was easier to talk to, and that said something when you were such a functional mute that an alien snake was better at human communication.

“Yes,” Samas agreed. “She died because of the wrong in Gibbs’ world. My children died because of the wrong in mine.” Tony sat down on the bench, his knees suddenly unstable as the truth hit him. Samas’ children had all been slaughtered for trying to do the right thing. He’d lost everyone, which explained why Gibbs was willing to timeshare with his life. Worse, Tony thought back to all the times O’Neill had implied that Samas was a goa’uld. It would be like calling a Jewish survivor of the death camps a Nazi. God almighty, when Tony saw O’Neill again, he was kicking his ass.

“And O’Neill’s buddies still want to kill you for it,” Tony said wearily.

“They live in fear, and fear rarely leads to rational thought,” Samas said without sounding too upset at the idea of being killed.

Tony sat in the silence and tried to figure out how to get his brain to rewire. “Can you have more kids?” Tony cringed. He shouldn’t have asked that. Gibbs was still in there.

“If the conditions were right, but there are no willing hosts to take children, for them to learn about the world in the natural way. And I will not have children who are trapped in the water like fish or who are driven to try and take hosts who are unwilling.”

Tony nodded. That made sense in a weird sort of way. He certainly couldn’t think of many people who would agree to share a brain under the best of circumstances, but if Earth were at war with the goa’uld, Samas and her kids weren’t going to get a fair shot at a real life. “Wait. Daniel never said anything about you being a queen, and I think that’s something he would have mentioned. Do they know?”

“They do not.” Samas faded and the harder angles of Gibbs took over.

“They can’t know,” Gibbs said firmly. “The xenophobic asses would rip Samas out and dissect him.”

“Her,” Tony corrected Gibbs. It was not worth the answering glare he got in return.

“Him,” Gibbs said slowly enough that he managed to communicate the idea that if Tony let it slip that Samas was female, that he planned to gut Tony and let his hide hang from the wall as a warning for all future NCIS agent to not fail their team leads.

“Him. Got it, boss.”

“Good.” Then, with a grunt, Gibbs seemed to be done.

“This Ba’al, he knows, doesn’t he?”

Gibbs clenched his jaw.

“That is the only reason why he would put this much energy into tracking you down. He found out somehow, and he knows you’re not just a run of the mill onac. So, what’s the plan?”

Gibbs took a long time to answer. “We wait.”

“I hate waiting,” Tony whined.

Gibbs ignored him, simply tucking his chin close to his chest and closing his eyes. Tony also hated the way Gibbs seemed to be able to sleep through anything. He’d blame it on Samas, but he’s seen too many special ops guys do the exactly same thing.

“I’ll just be over here pacing,” Tony said as he stood up and headed to the other side of the cell.

“Tony, come here,” Gibbs said, holding out his hand—or maybe it was Samas. The body language was a little muddled. Tony walked close, and Gibbs caught his wrist and pulled him down onto the bench next to him. “Rest,” Gibbs ordered. Tony had never been able to refuse an order from Gibbs. He sagged into the other man. Gibbs wrapped a hand around Tony’s head and pulled it down until Tony laid it on Gibbs’ shoulder. Funny. Tony had wanted this forever, and it took getting kidnapped by space alien snakes to get it.


	10. Chapter 10

The room the guards escorted them to looked like a reject out of an ’80 rock video. Gold walls and a giant black throne with an elaborate carved back were pretty high on the tacky scale. A man in a black leather outfit that also screamed ‘80s stood up.

“Samas,” he said, his voice echoing. “How wonderful to see you. This is a pleasure I had not expected.”

“Ba’al,” Gibbs said, but he had the Samas reverberation to his voice. Tony looked again, but it was definitely Gibbs talking. Gibbs held his shoulders a little tighter and higher, and he had a whole set of little tells. “I thought I recognized your mark on your servants.”

One of the guards grabbed Tony’s shoulder and forced him to his knees. “Geez. Try asking nicely,” Tony complained softly. Ba’al’s gaze moved from Gibbs to him.

“This one is interesting. Have you chosen him to host one of us?” Ba’al stepped down from his throne area and walked over to stand in front of Tony. Yep, the bad guys knew who the weak link was, and it wasn’t Gibbs. Or Samas. Ba’al reached out and ran the back of a finger across Tony’s cheek. Strange jewelry that covered his whole hand was cool against Tony’s skin. “He is older than most when they take a goa’uld.”

“My own host is older,” Gibbs said in Samas’ voice. It was starting to weird Tony out a little, and yeah, he was repressing because he would rather focus on that weirdness than he would all the other magnificently wrong things happening in the room. “Humans are designed to age, and attempting to stop that process is unhealthy.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ba’al said, “I am doing quite well.” Weirdly he kept stroking Tony’s cheek. Tony looked up at Gibbs to see if he should be doing something or just letting the alien pet him like a dog. “Are you so desperate to be a host that you jumped in the rings with Samas?” Ba’al looked down at him.

“I was just trying to stay with the boss. We try to get kidnapped together.” Tony even tried to keep a civil tone, but Ba’al glared down at him.

“He is mine,” Gibbs said, stepping forward.

Ba’al finally turned his attention back to Gibbs. “So he is,” Ba’al agreed. The man had an oily smile, like a cross between a used car salesman and a porn star. Tony definitely had an itch to arrest the guy, although he could just imagine how that would turn out.

Tony shifted as his knees started to ache, and the guard rested his staff against Tony’s back. Yeah, they were not into subtlety. They did, however, get their point across. Tony quieted.

“Bring it,” Ba’al called and servants scampered out from archways behind his throne. They actually scampered. Tony had never seen someone act out that particular verb before. “I had wanted to provide you a gift. Perhaps a consort would be an appropriate one.” Ba’al lifted an eyebrow, and a woman appeared with a jar. In it swam a snake-like creature with a beige body and greenish fins. The head was pointed and darker, and had beady red eyes.

“I can make you a god,” Ba’al told Tony.

“I don’t suppose this is negotiable?” 

“No.”

Tony swallowed, and Gibbs’ hand came down to rest on his shoulder. Tony settled back on his knees and trusted Gibbs to fix this. Ba’al took the top off the jar and reached in for the snake. It squealed and writhed, but Ba’al ignored the creature’s struggles and brought it over to Tony.

Tony was looking up and really wishing he wasn’t facing this on his knees, but then Gibbs darted forward. Or not Gibbs. Tony blinked and it took him a second to realize that something had come out of Gibbs’ mouth. A big something. He watched as a dark green snake wrapped around Ba’al’s arm and opened its mouth to show lines of what looked like teeth. Samas. That was Samas. Looking at the two side by side, Tony could not believe igigi and goa’uld were even the same species. Samas was twice the size of the other runt, and she had huge fins which spread out, making her look a little dragonish. The goa’uld was closer to the worm end of snakiness.

Samas literally ripped the goa’uld in half and then flipped herself into the air. Gibbs had to reach out for her, but she landed on his arm and wrapped herself tightly around it before starting to munch on the head she’d ripped off the goa’uld. 

Cannibalism. Lovely. Yeah, Tony was definitely going to think of goa’uld and igigi as different species. Any other thought would seriously damage his psyche.

“Well. That changes things.” Ba’al dropped the still squirming back half of the goa’uld before he turned and walked to his throne. He then sat and sprawled like an arrogant teenager. 

Samas started making noises, and Tony looked up in alarm. Staying on his knees, he quickly scooted aside as Samas vomited up goa’uld parts onto the floor. Tony could feel his eye twitch, and he noticed that even the badass guards looked a little grossed out. 

With a flip of a tail, Samas darted into Gibbs’ mouth, vanishing. Okay, there was something worse than cannibalism—it was eating someone and then vomiting them back up.

“I’m going kneel on his other side. The side without the…” Tony gestured toward the pile of goa’uld parts. Despite the fact that shifting his weight had earlier led to a weapon in the back, none of the clanky-guard people even commented as Tony knee walked over to Gibbs’ left side. “Maybe next time you could vomit him up away from me?”

Samas’ hand stroked Tony’s hair. “Of course. I would not want such inferior genetics to stain you.” This was actually Samas now, and Tony had no idea what sort of internal conversations Gibbs and Samas were having that led to them taking turns.

“Your host is a volunteer,” Ba’al commented.

“An unwilling host means you are trapped inside the body. And given that poor excuse for a goa’uld you attempted to inflict on my human, you have a problem.” Samas smirked. “A rather serious one.”

“I could solve it the way Ra did,” Ba’al warned. “There’s no reason why I can’t rip you out of that host and force you to breed.”

Tony’s stomach rolled and he nearly added to the vomit on the floor.

“Yes because it worked out so well for Ra. The younger ones who came after me, are any of them still alive or are they all as genetically inferior and damaged as that thing?” Samas gestured toward the ground.

Ba’al looked around the room. “Leave us,” he ordered everyone. That earned him quick bows all around the servants scurried away. One of the guards grabbed Tony’s shoulder and pulled him to his feet.

“Leave him,” Samas roared, turning on the guard. Tony stumbled back, startled by the sudden violence, but then the body language shifted and Gibbs was there speaking with Samas’ voice. “He is mine. You touch him again, and I will rip that deformed symbiote out of your stomach and leave you to die on the floor.”

The guard lost most of his color, but he held his ground until Ba’al waved him away. At that point, he fled, clanking and clinking the whole way. Tony actually felt a little sorry for him.

“Lord Anubis did warn that you queens were a rather volatile lot.” Ba’al sat on his chair and made a production out of studying his fingernails. He looked up at Tony. “So, how do you serve your queen if not as a potential host?”

Later Tony promised himself he would die laughing at the idea of someone calling Gibbs a queen, but right now was probably not the best time. “Mostly when he gets this angry, I try to keep him from killing people.”

“Oh.” Ba’al gave a little nod. “Carry on, then.” He waved a hand toward Gibbs, and that was not improving Gibbs’ temper at all. This was heading toward full nuclear meltdown.

“Boss, you remember that speech you gave me about keeping my cool?” Tony reached over and rested a hand on Gibbs’ arm. Gibbs turned a vicious glare in Tony’s direction, but that was nothing new. “Hey, it could be worse. You could be here alone, and then you would totally try to kill that guy, and you and I both know you wouldn’t succeed.”

Gibbs narrowed his eyes, and Tony swallowed. Oh yeah. This was Ari-level obsessive fury. Ba’al had no idea yet, but he was so totally dead. It might take Gibbs months or years, but he was going to kill Ba’al deader than a really dead thing. “You’re scaring the natives, boss,” Tony said in a low voice.

Gibbs shivered, and Samas stood there, even angrier than Gibbs, and that was not easy. “You will show us to rooms and give us privacy,” he ordered Ba’al. “You will provide sustenance and a place to rest and a place for me to swim and if I am displeased with any of it, I will start shredding your empire one deformed and pathetic parasite at a time.”

Tony stared in horror, fully expecting Ba’al to pull out some alien ray gun and shoot them both. Instead, he started to laugh. “Your reputation does not do you justice. I will provide all that. I also have a range of willing hosts if you would like to trade in the current model.”

Ba’al had no more than gotten to the word ‘justice’ before Gibbs turned and headed for the doors. They didn’t open, so Gibbs stood there, furious. He turned and gave Ba’al and evil look. 

Ba’al raised his hand and the doors opened. “This way,” one of the guards said, far more respectfully this time. Gibbs barely managed more than a growl before he stormed out.

“Tony,” Ba’al called out. Tony stopped, shocked that some alien overlord knew his name—shocked and a little creeped out. “Calm her.”

Tony gave his best goofy smile. “It’s what I do best.”

“For your sake, I hope so,” Ba’al said firmly. Tony really didn’t have an answer, so he trotted after Gibbs, the guards clanking along behind.


	11. Chapter 11

The new rooms were an improvement over the cell. The front room had a wide view of space, which seemed to be streaking by in a rainbow of blues, and several sitting areas. It also had an enormous pool with a water fountain and fish darting through waving strands of green. Off to the side and through an arch was an enormous bedroom with one bed, and a pile of blankets on the floor at the foot. Yep, Tony knew his role. Attached to the bedroom, Tony found a bathroom and a small study with a desk that had computer gadgets that Tony couldn’t understand.

Gibbs ignored all of it. He went straight to the pool and bent over like he was going to vomit. Samas came streaking out and immediately took after the closest school of fish, who all darted away. Some just didn’t dart away fast enough.

“Oh yeah, she’s a predator,” Tony agreed. He couldn’t imagine that pale wormy looking thing could ever hunt this way.

Gibbs glared at him, and it took Tony a second to figure out what he’d done wrong.

“He’s a predator.”

Gibbs grunted.

“Are we going to talk?”

“No. Calm him down if you want to follow Ba’al’s orders.” Gibbs gestured toward the pool.

“Boss, I follow your orders.”

“Clearly you don’t because you’re here after I ordered you to not put yourself at risk,” Gibbs slapped the edge of the pool, and Samas came swimming over. Gibbs stared down into the water and then dangled his fingers down into it. Samas twirled around him and then went darting after fish twice as fast.

“That’s not calming him,” Tony pointed out.

Gibbs grunted again, and stomped off toward the bathroom.

“It would help if you guys would talk a little more,” Tony said softly. He let his fingers dangle in the water, and Samas appeared out of some of the water plants, his/her mouth open to show all those teeth. He swam so that his back ran along Tony’s fingers. His skin was firm and smooth, but when Tony went to touch Samas with his fingers, Samas darted away and nipped at Tony. Drops of blood floated in the water, and Tony yanked his fingers out and stuck his finger in his mouth. Right, no petting the boss. Either boss. That was pretty clear. Samas came back and snapped at the water with Tony’s blood.

“That’s kinda gross,” Tony commented. Samas circled, and Tony put his other hand in the pool. Again, Samas rubbed along the back of his fingers.

“You know, petting you is too much temptation,” he said. Pulling his hand out, he quickly pulled his shoes off and rolled up his pants. Sitting on the low bench that surrounded the water, Tony dangled his feet in.

Immediately Samas wound around his ankles. “Boss, you okay?” Tony called. Gibbs didn’t have a woodworking shop, so he wasn’t sure what the man would do to try and unwind. “I could probably use a briefing before I go and say something stupid.”

“Too late,” Gibbs yelled from the other room.

Charming. Eventually Samas got tired of swimming around Tony and he started nipping at Tony. Tony jerked, and kicked water up into the air. Apparently petting was a no-go, but he was fine with Tony trying to kick him. Tony could almost feel the amusement rising from the water. At first, Tony was tentative, only half-heartedly kicking in Samas’ direction, but when he could never connected, he tried harder and harder. By the time Samas got tired of that and swam off, probably to terrorize more fish, Tony had splashed water all over himself and made a mess on the floor.

A little musical chime startled Tony, and he pulled his feet out of the water. The second time, he realized it was the door. “Um, come in?” he called. Nothing happened. Tony went over to explore the door, and something he touched made it come open. Four guards stood outside with staffs, and Tony held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, not challenging anyone here. The door made a noise.”

A young woman with a huge pile in her arms came in, and the door closed behind her.

“Is the queen here?” she whispered.

“In there,” Tony said, gesturing to the water. The girl’s eyes got comically large. “And don’t call Samas a queen. It’s just weird. He prefers to be called a ‘he.’”

“Should we address him as ‘my lord,’ then?” Tony opened his mouth to make a smartass remark, but it suddenly occurred to him that this girl was a slave. She wasn’t free and she probably wouldn’t understand his humor.

“That would work better than queen. Here, let me help you.” He took the bundle from her arms, surprised at how heavy it was.

“I brought several outfits. I saw your lord quickly, but I did not get a good sense of what he might wear that would be more appropriate than…” she trailed off, her gaze sliding to the floor.

“Hey, we appreciate that,” Tony hurried to reassure her. He put the pile on the nearest couch. When he turned, she had followed and was standing behind him. “We dressed to fit in on Earth. It looks a little strange here, doesn’t it?” He stripped off his wrinkled and splattered suit coat and tie, and she smiled as she nodded.

“A little, but your lord dresses you as he sees fit.”

“My lord shops at Sears. He doesn’t get to pick my outfits,” Tony said firmly. He started sorting through the pile, and he could pretty quickly sort things out. Leather, dark silks with an emphasis on black, and finely made apparel were in Gibbs’ pile. Simple, rough, homespun black and gray went in his. Given the lack of fabric, Ba’al intended to keep him half-naked. Subtle. “I’m sure Gibbs will find something he can wear.” Hopefully. They needed to pick their battles, and a poorly tailored suit from the Men’s Warehouse was not a hill to die on.

“Gibbs?” She was confused.

“The boss,” Tony explained. “Most of the time, I call Samas Gibbs because that’s the host’s name.”

“Ah.” Her eyes lit with understanding. “He is very good at hiding, and having his slave call him by the host’s name prevents you from accidentally revealing his presence. He must be very wise.”

“Right now, he’s very pissed,” Tony said. He shrugged. “Bosses. Sometimes they just have to get it out of their system.”

She nodded sadly. With a worried expression, she caught his hand. “We have healing creams and lotions if you need. You can ask any time.”

Tony’s stomach churned as he realized what she expected. His master was pissed, and she thought that meant he would take a beating. “Samas isn’t like that,” Tony said. He looked down at his bare feet. “Okay, so he nipped me a little, but he wouldn’t actually hurt me.”

She stared down at the tiny red marks on his water-wrinkled skin. “What of the host?”

“Gibbs? He’s locked himself in the bathroom.”

She shifted nervously.

“Did you need something else?”

“I have bands, but normally the master places them on his servant.” She reached into a pouch that hung from her belt and pulled out several black straps. “They mark the loyal servant,” she said as she reached up and touched her neck. Her collared neck. Great. Tony quickly spotted the cuffs on her wrists, and he guessed she had them on her ankles under the ‘fuck me’ boots. Given the way Ba’al dressed his women slaves, Tony should probably be grateful he got clothes at all.

“Samas does things a little differently,” Tony said. “Leave these here and I’ll try to get him to use them.”

“He wouldn’t want to mark you? What if someone else saw you and tried to claim you for his own?” She seemed honestly distressed at that.

“Actually, that has happened lots,” Tony said in a conspiratorial tone. Her eyes got big. “I bet you’ve heard that when I got here, I was on top of Samas.”

The girl blushed vivid red and nodded.

“Someone was trying to keep me away from Samas, so I jumped off these stairs and into the top of the ring transportation devise. I was falling when the light took us, so when we landed here, I landed on Gibbs.” Tony used his hands to show one falling splat on the other.

She giggled. “Truly?”

“Do you really think I could get away with falling on Gibbs with only a glare under normal circumstance?” Tony asked.

She shook her head.

“Damn right. He’d headslap me into the middle of next week.” Tony stopped. Christ. The girl looked at him with these huge eyes and she really believed Gibbs would hurt him. That’s the life she’d always had, and Tony suddenly didn’t know how to talk to her. She wasn’t some witness, she was a slave trapped on an alien ship.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit on the second couch, next to him. “But hey, Gibbs was okay with it because if I hadn’t fought to get to him, he would have killed to get back to me.” Her gaze darted over to the pool, but she didn’t comment. “I’m Tony,” he said.

“Antalia,” she offered, touching her chest.

“It’s really nice to meet you, Antalia, and it was really nice of you to bring us clothes so we wouldn’t look like freaks.” She ducked her head, and her long, black hair hid her face.

“Entertaining women already, DiNozzo?” Gibbs walked into the room, and Antalia tried to slide off the couch and to her knees, but Tony held her arm.

“Boss, this is Antalia. She works for Ba’al and she brought us some clothes so we wouldn’t stink quite so much.”

Gibbs gave Tony a long look, one normally reserved for those times when he was trying to figure out what Tony was up to.

“Antalia, this is Gibbs. He’s Samas’ host, although he was also kind of badass on his own long before Samas joined him. I think that’s why the two of them get along so well.”

“My lord,” Antalia said, keeping her head bowed low. “I live to serve.”

Tony watched Gibbs flinch.

“How about some food?” Tony asked brightly. “I’m starving, how about you, boss?”

Gibbs grunted.

“That’s his ‘hell yes, why haven’t you taken care of this already, DiNozzo,’ grunt,” Tony told Antalia in a conspiratorial tone, one slave to another.

“I shall send someone with food.” She stood and bowed deeply to Gibbs.

“You can come back any time,” Tony said. “Maybe after I find out which of those Samas likes?” he nodded toward the other couch. She looked at the pile of clothes and nodded.

“Of course, Tony.” She looked up and gave him a small smile before she bowed to Gibbs again and with a soft, “My lord,” she started backing out of the room. Gibbs watched her until she left and then he glared at Tony.

“I’m making friends, boss. You never know when a friend will come in handy. So, I have it on good authority that we look like freaks of nature in these clothes. I also have it on good authority that we will look like freaks in our new clothes, but we will be cleaner freaks.”

Gibbs frowned. “What happened to your suit?”

Tony looked down at the wrinkled mess. The water was totally going to stain his tie, and the pants… between the kneeling and the falling and the pool, they were unsalvageable. “Your better half felt like playing,” Tony said. “We splashed around a little.”

Gibbs looked toward the pool and then looked back with an expression that came close to horror.

“So Antalia did her best, but this is looking a little Ba’alish,” Tony said as he sorted clothes. He found a shirt that would show more fabric than skin and held it up. It was black silk and the simplest thing Antalia had brought, although it did have black symbols embroidered into the collar and down the front. On earth, Tony would have paid a couple of hundred dollars for a shirt like this. “What do you think?”

“I’m not wearing it.”

Tony sighed and dropped the shirt on the couch. “Boss, that was a damn good performance in there today, but you and I both know that the stick has to go with the carrot. Carrot, stick. Stick, carrot.” Tony put his hands out as though weighing something and then let the scales tip back and forth.

Gibbs moved over to the window. “This isn’t an interrogation, Tony. The damn species is dying. They want me to fix it.”

“Wait. Dying? Dying as in…”

Gibbs turned back around and looked at Tony. “The position of first slave is almost always reserved for someone who is destined to host. You would be Samas’ backup host I were damaged badly enough that he couldn’t heal me.”

“Yeah, I got that, boss. And if you were injured, I wouldn’t hesitate to take Samas, although I’d be a little more worried about saving you.”

Gibbs clenched his jaw as he looked around the room. “They’re never letting me leave this ship.”

“Then I’m never leaving with you,” Tony said. “Boss, we’re in this together.”

“I ordered you to stay behind.”

“Write me up,” Tony suggested with a shrug.

Before Tony could blink, Gibbs was across the room, spinning Tony and grabbing him from behind by the neck. Surprise made Tony swing, but Gibbs had him in a sleeper hold, and he forced Tony stomach down onto the couch and pinned him there. Tony’s heart pounded impossibly fast, and he finally forced himself to lie still under Gibbs’ body.

“This is what they expect, Tony. If you disobey, they expect me to force you to your knees, to discipline you, to rape you and beat you.”

“First, if you have to physically discipline me because I say something stupid, I’m not going to complain, boss. I’ve never complained about the headslaps, and sometimes those hurt.”

“Not the way it would hurt if I took a strap to your backside.”

Tony closed his eyes. “Okay, I know that. Just don’t ask me to sit still for it because I’m going to panic and strike out, so make sure you tie me to something first if it has to be done.”

That made Gibbs recoil as if burned. He retreated to the far side of the pool where he stood near the door to the bedroom and stared at Tony. Tony rubbed his neck as he sat up. “A slave just brought me slave clothes that don’t leave much to the imagination. I’m apparently sleeping in a pile of blankets on the floor at the foot of your big huge bed, and Ba’al just tried to confiscate my body. I do get it, boss.”

“Tony.” Gibbs voice came out strangled.

“Boss, it’s okay. I understand that I’m going to do something stupid to earn discipline eventually. Do it yourself and make sure I don’t have a chance to make it worse by fighting back, and I’ll get through fine. As far as rape, that would be difficult for you. You can’t be so clueless that you haven’t noticed that I’m attracted to you.”

“Samas has,” Gibbs admitted, and he looked like it was painful for him to say it.

“Right. So that’s not a problem. And as far as the slave duties—calming you down, running around after you when you’re smarter than the rest of us and two steps ahead, intercepting stupid people before you feel the need to kill them, and generally taking care of all the grunt work that you don’t have time for. Add to that the being on call twenty four hours a day, insane midnight calls, lack of sleep, and impossible expectations, and I’m pretty sure that I’ve been a slave for the last several years. Clearly I don’t have a problem with it since I’ve stuck around.”

“God damn it, Tony, I was trying to protect you from all this.”

“Gibbs, I’m happier here than I would be if I were still on Earth. Right now, Ziva and Tim are being eaten alive by guilt, wondering what they could have done or why they weren’t good enough to fix all this.”

“They don’t even know what happened,” Gibbs said.

Tony nodded. “Yeah, but they’re going to figure out that we’re gone, and Director Shepard is sharp enough to figure out that the Air Force doesn’t know where we went. That’s when the real guilt starts. That’s the sort of guilt that eats you alive from the inside.” Tony looked up at Gibbs and he let down all the masks and facades and shared a piece of the real him. “It would kill me, Gibbs. If I were in that cell right now, I wouldn’t give a shit about my career or O’Neill or the whole fucking planet, because I would be too busy with the guilt that was eating my soul.”

“Oh Tony.” Gibbs took several steps closer.

“You’re the first person to call me too good to waste, boss.”

Gibbs seemed frozen. He stared at Tony with an expression that even Tony couldn’t read. They stayed like that, silently staring and held in place by some emotion that neither controlled, until the door chime rang again.

“Get dinner set up out here. I’ll try the clothes,” Gibbs said. From him, it was as good as an apology or a declaration of love.

“On it, boss,” Tony agreed. Actually, if he just replaced the word “boss” with “master,” he really did have the slave gig down pretty well.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony opened the door and quickly stepped back rather than make the guards nervous. He found himself looking at a thin man wearing plain brown clothing that looked a lot more comfortable than the options Antalia had brought him. The new guy had brought a cart with enough food to feed an army. He kept his eyes down.

“You ordered food?”

“Hey, I’m not a goa’uld, so don’t try so hard to be polite to me. It makes me nervous,” Tony said. The man looked up. “Come on in, Tony invited him. The man hesitated a second, but then he pushed the food inside the rooms. There was a table on the opposite side of the room from the archway into the bedroom. “I’m Tony.”

The man ducked his head a little lower. “Stelli,” he said softly.

“Nice to meet you, Stelli,” Tony said. The man looked up, clearly surprised. Tony kept smiling, careful to not startle the man.

“I can set up the meal,” he said as he started taking the lids off plates.

“I can help with that.”

“Careful!” Stelli reached out to grab Tony’s hand, but then he cringed back, his hands tucked close to his chest as his expression twisted in horror. “The plate is hot, hem.” From the reverential way he said “hem,” Tony was guessing it was a title.

Tony reached out and let his fingers hover over the plate, and he could feel the heat radiating. “Thank you, Stelli. I would have been badly hurt.”

“Your master could have healed you. I should not have touched you. I apologize, hem.”

“My master expects me to figure things out for myself, and he rarely saves me from my own mistakes,” Tony said softly. “And that might be a problem because I’ve never lived on a ship like this. So I do owe you some gratitude, and if I’m about to do something stupid, I would very much appreciate it if you would grab my hand.”

Stelli looked up at him, caution in his expression. Yep, this was the bullied kid who was eyeing the new kid waiting to see whether there was a new bully on the block. Tony took a step back. “Maybe I should watch how you do it,” Tony said.

Stelli nodded and reached out again. He took off a lid and then picked up the plate with his bare hand.

“Wasn’t that hot a second ago?” Tony asked.

“When one removes the lid, the heat or cold vanishes. The plate only keeps its temperature in order to make sure the master’s food is served correctly.” Stelli suddenly looked up at Tony. “Your master prefers to be called ‘master’ or ‘lord’ rather than ‘queen,’ correct?”

There was real fear there. Tony smiled. “Yes, he does. I may also call him Gibbs from time to time because that’s the name of his host. And honestly, he would rather be called ‘Special Agent’ or ‘boss’ rather than ‘master,’ although you could probably get away with calling him ‘my lord’ without pissing him off. Now me… he’d be pissed if I said that.”

“I don’t know those titles,” Stelli said. He looked down at the cart and started working to unload a veritable feast.

“Special Agent is someone who has proven to be an expert in discovering secrets and uncovering crimes. I’m a Special Agent too. Gibbs taught me himself.” Tony grinned.

Stelli gave him a small smile. “You are hem, such happens.”

“I don’t know that title,” Tony said. “I know, I’ll make you a deal. For every fact you tell me, I’ll tell you one, and vice versa.” Tony figured that information had to be one of the big trade goods in a slave society. They wouldn’t have much else. “So, you told me about the plates, and I told you about Special Agents. What else do you want to know about?” Tony sat in one of the chairs.

“You also told me of ways to address your lord,” Stelli said, “so I still owe you information. A hem or many hemu serve a god. The gods may choose to have their hemu do many things a slave would not dream of, and many rise to godhood themselves.”

“Yeah, Lord Ba’al tried to promote me, and Samas was not impressed.”

Stelli gave him a sympathetic look. “I am sorry. I hope one day your lord finds you worthy.”

Tony grinned as he thought of how this man would respond to a vehement ‘hell no’ at the very thought of getting snaked. However, Tony knew how to catch flies, and it wasn’t by putting out vinegar and swatting at them, no matter what Gibbs seemed to think. “I think I’m going to accept any place, as long as I get to stay with the boss.”

“Spoken like a faithful hem,” Stelli said, clearly approving of that answer. He finished setting out the plates and started putting the lids back on them. Tony wondered if that would turn on the heating and cooling elements in the plate, but at least now he knew to check before touching anything. He’d have to warn Gibbs too. Tony frowned. Unless Samas already knew.

“So, who would I find on this ship other than gods, hemu and guards?” Tony asked.

Stelli stood up and considered him with amusement. “One must beware of trading questions with you,” he said with amusement. “I will tell you, but you must give me time to come up with a question equally worthy of trade before finishing the transaction.”

“Deal,” Tony said. He had no idea why that was such a good question, but he was happy to claim credit for a lucky mistake. He didn’t know how lucky until Stelli had spent twenty minutes explaining about the planet slaves or meret, the servants who served in the belly of the ship called the sedjemash, the hemu who served at the right hand of the gods, and the seqer who were worked to death in mines or in the belly of the ships because they were captured enemy with no status, even among the slaves. He spoke of the tok’ra rebels who would sneak on board to spy and the jaffa guards and of the free jaffa infiltrators who would sometimes try to convince the loyal to abandon their gods. For a low-ranked sedjemash, Stelli actually knew quite a lot about his masters the very complex political system they fostered on their ha’tak ships. He finished and watched Tony, searching for some reaction.

“Okay. That’s complicated.”

“Your world is not as complex.” Stelli stated. Tony noted that it was a statement, and very carefully not worded as a question. He might be low status, but the man was not stupid.

“No, it is. Gibbs usually ignored the politics, did exactly what he wanted, and the rest of the world had to sort of figure out how to deal with it.”

“That is always the way for the gods,” Stelli said softly. He moved a step closer. “However, I think your Gibbs had the power to make sure that you had that same freedom.”

Tony smiled. “The only person I had to worry about pissing off was Gibbs. He pretty much took care of the rest of the world,” Tony agreed. He smiled up at Stelli. “You do know that we will never eat that much food. We’re in space. Surely you can’t afford to waste it.”

Stelli nodded, accepting the change of topic. “What your lord does not want, you may distribute to others in return for favors or ask the guard to remove it. They will then distribute to food to their favorites.”

Tony’s stomach clenched. Food was a trade item, which implied that either slaves didn’t get enough food or they didn’t get good food. These people were evil, which was probably why Samas had refused to go along with their games in the first place.

“Gibbs isn’t going to want to be disturbed again, and I know what he likes to eat, so I can choose now.”

Stelli’s eyes got big. “And if your lord is not pleased?”

Tony snorted. “If he’s not, trust me, I’ll hear about it. However, he would never take that displeasure outside this room. Right now, Ba’al and I are the only ones in any immediate danger.” Tony hated exaggerating Gibbs’ temper, but camaraderie over temperamental owners seemed like the fastest way to make a friend, and they needed some friends.

Tony stood and started taking the lids off the dishes he had already identified. He kept two servings of meat, a potato-like dish, two desserts—both of which he planned to eat—a variety of fruits and nuts, and a small plate of cheese. It was a large meal, and it still meant that two-thirds of the food was going right back to the kitchen… or galley or whatever the hell they called the room where they cooked food. He finished and looked at the cart.

“I have a favor to ask.”

Stelli bowed. “Of course, hem.”

“I don’t know who is a potential friend or favorite. I know you have been incredibly helpful, and Antalia did beautiful work on the clothes; however, I don’t know how to distribute this is a way that would best serve my boss.” Tony gestured toward the food laden cart. “Could you do that for me?”

Stelli drew himself up straight and then lowered his head slowly and gracefully. “I would be honored, hem Tony.”

“Thank you.” Tony knew the power of touch. He reached out and let his fingers rest on Stelli’s arm, and the man gave him a warm look before dropping his head.

“I should return. I have been gone longer than expected.”

“Well tell them that I kept you.”

“Thank you, hem,” Stelli said. With one last bow, he headed for the door, leaving Tony alone in the room. The ha’tak might be a ship, but it was oddly silent. Tony was used to ships that creaked and moaned as they rocked through the water. He could always hear the hump and click of mechanics and the distant muffled voices of crew. This ship was silent. Dead.

“Good work, Tony.”

Tony looked up to see Gibbs standing in the arch. He smiled. “How much did you hear, boss?”

“All of it.” Gibbs came over and looked at the feast laid out on the table. “After Samas’ stunt today, I’m not sure I can eat.”

“You mean the cannibalism thing?”

Gibbs nodded before picking up a piece of fruit. Normally Gibbs was a meat kind of guy, but Tony could see how it would be a little disturbing to have your bodymate eat a relative. Gibbs walked over to the bench where the clothes Antalia had brought for him lay in a pile. “The strongest onac curse translates roughly to ‘I hope a mother eats you and vomits your remains on dry land.’”

Tony shivered. “Disturbing and oddly accurate considering what Samas did today.”

Gibbs fingered the leather cuffs Antalia had brought. “He found the onac disgustingly mutated and unworthy of living. More than that, he found it unworthy of having its genes passed on to any future generations.”

“Ah.” Tony nodded. “If the remains are on dry land, the predatory queens won’t sample the DNA.”

That got a quick nod out of Gibbs. Tony considered the fact that Samas had snapped up Tony’s blood when it dribbled into the pool, but they could worry about that another time. Gibbs was still fingering the cuffs, and Tony put the lids back on the dishes before joining Gibbs over in the sitting area.

“We have to play the game, Gibbs.”

Gibbs snorted.

“We’ve already established that I’m going to have to play the slave.”

Gibbs turned and looked at him, his blue eyes cold. “No, you’re going to have to be a slave, and if I die, you’re going to be Ba’al’s slave.”

“Then don’t die,” Tony suggested. “Or if you think there’s no other choice, give me a quick end and then do what you have to.”

Gibbs closed his eyes and dropped down onto the couch. Tony moved to the far end of the same couch and sat. They waited in silence for a time, and then Gibbs held up the padded leather strap. “They use these so that if they grab a slave and tie him down, there’s less chance of damaging the wrist bones.”

“Not a bad idea, actually,” Tony commented. The look Gibbs gave him could have killed. “Anyone who takes slave is on the morally corrupt end of the pool, boss. The fact they try to avoid damaging those slaves is the most humane thing I’ve heard about them yet. No offense, but your family sucks.”

“Samas’ family,” Gibbs said, looking over to the pool. Tony hadn’t realized they were still separate.

“Samas’ family,” Tony corrected himself. “Now unless you plan to starve yourself and leave me to deal with Ba’al, we should have dinner, sort out the clothes, and get some rest before we get called back in there.” Tony stood up. For a second, he thought Gibbs might walk away. He certainly had a history of avoiding the team when the emotions got too deep. Instead, Gibbs gave a nod and headed back to the table.

“They have a really weird fruit thing. I’m not sure it’s safe to eat. The apple pie looks like apple pie, and the potatoes are pretty recognizable.” Tony started taking the lids off again, noting that the plates were hot and chilled again. The alien fruit was together will some apple and pear, and Gibbs glanced at it.

“It’s called nenic. It’s a little like a kiwi and a banana, only with a thick skin and firm fruit.”

“Oh. That sounds good.” Tony was never one to turn down food. He grabbed it, and popped it in. It had that sharp tang of kiwi and a note of sour apple, but then it had a sweetness like an overripe banana. “Very good,” Tony said. This was going into his list of favorite fruits.

Gibbs sighed and started cutting into the steak. Yep, that was the Gibbs that Tony knew and loved. There wasn’t a problem in the world the two of them couldn’t solve over beer and steaks.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony touched the band on his wrist again and fought an urge to pull on his collar. He appreciated the irony in the fact that he had to get Gibbs to collar him and add the wrist and ankle straps. But now that they were going in to see Ba’al again, Tony was glad for them. Like the clothes, they were visible proof that Gibbs could bend, and that would keep them alive.

They walked in the room, and one of the slaves darted forward and caught him by the arm before nodding toward the side where several other slaves stood. Stood, as in not kneeling. Tony glanced toward the guard, and the older one gave him a small nod.

“Thanks,” he whispered, and he moved over toward them. He knew the looks on their faces. It was like he was back in high school with people locked up together for too many years—bored and far too familiar with each other. New faces brought excitement and a shifting of the status that some feared. Yeah, Tony never thought he’d have to be the new kid again, but then he never thought he’d be wearing skin tight pants with a vest that hid almost nothing and a collar. At least he never expected to wear it in public.

Gibbs looked more stylish. He’d finally given in to Tony and submitted to an outfit of Tony’s choosing. He had the black embroidered shirt and black pants that were nicely tailored to his figure. Antalia had a good eye to get them to fit that well without any measurements. He also wore a finely tooled belt with a red stone as large as Tony’s palm and a gray leather jacket with silver details. He looked gorgeous. And pissed. He still looked pissed.

A woman had joined Ba’al. She stood to the side, looking out onto space and ignoring him completely. There were some strange dynamics going on there.

“Samas, you look more presentable today,” Ba’al greeted him.

Gibbs was front and center, and he focused on the woman. “Who are you?”

She turned. She wore deep purple robes embroidered with gold and red and an elaborate beaded veil attached to an actual crown. These people had serious fashion issues. Tony could definitely see her wearing red silk in Gibbs’ basement.

She smiled, her expression barely visible under the veil. “Samas. We had such troubles finding you. Honestly, we thought that we would find you when you visited this human, not that you were inside him.” She looked Gibbs up and down in a way that made it clear she considered him an inferior host. Tony immediately took a disliking to her.

“You worry too much about appearance.”

She inclined her head. “Perhaps we do, old one.”

“Old one?” That was pure Gibbs disbelief.

“There are so few of us left who remember the old waters. Too few. The time to fight with each other has passed, and we must work together.”

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”

She reached out and stroked her hand down Gibbs’ arm, and Tony could feel the panic rising. He took a step forward, and Ba’al turned and gave him an amused look.

“Kali,” Gibbs said. “I didn’t think you went anywhere without being on Shiva’s leash.”

“That was many millennia ago.”

“Guess so.” Gibbs looked her up and down. “What do you want?”

“You and I go back so far my friend. You and I and Lords Yu and Anubis. Lady Amaterasu. Who else is left in the entire universe who understands our people as well as the five of us?”

“Ra certainly assumed he knew about our people,” Gibbs said dryly. That would be the alien that forced Samas to have kids and then slaughtered them all. Tony honestly didn’t know how all Samas’ issues fit into the same head with Gibbs’. 

“He made a mistake, and he paid for it. The tau’ri never would have had the opportunity to betray him were he not already suffering. He took new hosts almost yearly. He used the sarcophagus daily.”

“But he never went home and let his own body heal in the waters,” Gibbs pointed out.

Kali inclined her head toward Gibbs. The gesture was submissive, but the words… yeah, this one wouldn’t submit with her dying breath. She knew how to fake it, though. “We should think of saving our people.”

“My people are swimming on the homeworld, joining with unas, proving their worth and then returning to the waters. My people are safe, and when I feel like doing something for my people, I will return to those waters and birth a thousand more onac.”

“You can still breed.” Kali sighed, her relief palpable. “I feared… I feared we would be lost.”

“I am in no danger of being lost.” Gibbs stepped forward, still using Samas’ distorted voice. He caught Kali’s arm in a hard grip and gave her a good jerk. “I remember you when you didn’t know fear. I remember you swimming, your strong body slapping aside the other suitors.”

Kali raised her chin and looked at Gibbs. “You nearly took off half my tail.”

“You were worthy of taking significant genetic material,” Gibbs said. Then he gave her a hard shove. “Would you still be worthy? Can you still fight for yourself, or is your body destroyed from millennia of living inside a human? Do you even remember what it is to hunt?”

“Yes!” Kali leaped forward, hands reaching for Gibbs. He caught her, and they struggled, but then Gibbs stepped back and threw his hands in the air. Tony was starting to get a very disturbing idea about where Gibbs got his taste in strong and sometimes mentally unbalanced women. It would certainly explain why he so consistently chose wives who ended up trying to kill him with blunt objects.

“I don’t fight with human bodies. Come to my pool and prove yourself.” Gibbs had vanished, and now Samas stood in his place. 

Tony could see the instant when Kali gave up hope. She retreated, her body seeming to grow smaller as she turned her back and returned to staring out into space. Tony didn’t expect to see her show up without a human host any time soon.

“You were a great warrior—a formidable assassin,” Samas said, his voice almost gentle. “You will be born again, but not as this damaged and stunted creature. I will use the blood I once took as you writhed in my jaws. Do not ask for more of me, Kali.” 

She turned and looked at him over her shoulder. “I have never been your enemy, Samas.”

“You never defended me from Ra.”

Kali turned. “I thought you fought your own battles.”

Tony could see the moment where Samas sank back down and Gibbs rose up. He seriously hoped that Samas was right about no one else being able to read all these shifts. Tony honestly had no idea how alien overlords would react if they knew a human was telling them off. “If it had been only Ra, I would have. The goa’uld turned their backs on their own beliefs.”

For Gibbs, standing up for your beliefs was a line in the sand. Tony had no idea if the two goa’uld understood that, though.

Ba’al started slowly clapping. He kept clapping as he stood up and stepped down from the raised platform to stop right in front of Gibbs. “That was impressive. Anubis warned us that queens were rather uncompromising.”

“We carry the memories of the entire race, the memories of dozens if not hundreds of suitors who fought to offer up their blood. We should not compromise.”

“Yes, yes. And those of us who do not reproduce are pale imitations.” Ba’al waved his hand at the ridiculousness of that statement, and the slaves around Tony shifted uncomfortably. Tony could understand the slaves. They had no power, so any shifts at the top, could mean life and death for them. However, he still didn’t understand the goa’uld and the game they were playing. Clearly they wanted Samas’ abilities as a queen, but they weren’t trying very damn hard to win him over.

Gibbs crossed his arms and looked at Ba’al with that cross of irritation and utter boredom that often made Tony feel about two inches tall. Tony usually reacted by scrambling after something to do—anything to avoid the boss’s ire. Ba’al glared back, clearly annoyed.

“If you’re going to be a traditionalist, shouldn’t you be nesting by now? Where are your hundreds of suitors, all of whom will give their blood for you as you birth their offspring?”

Gibbs looked over to Kali, and she quickly shifted her gaze away. 

Ba’al laughed. “Don’t quote tradition at me, Samas. Right now the choice is between serving Anubis and bringing about a new age, a better age of onac—or watching the species die.”

After spending some time looking Ba’al up and down like a piece of rotting garbage that’s been dropped on the ground, Gibbs walked away. He headed right at Tony, and Tony darted forward. The other slaves gasped, so Tony stopped before he broke some taboo, but he said, “Yeah, boss?”

“Nenic.”

“On it, boss. Be right back.” Tony turned and gave one of the slaves a desperate look. A young woman gestured him off to an open door on the side, and Tony hurried in that direction. 

“If the goa’uld die, that only improves the species,” Gibbs said rather coldly. 

Tony feared he would miss the conversation, but he hadn’t made it two steps outside the hall when a slave appeared and shoved a platter in his hands. It had three weirdly shaped alien fruit and then a nicely arranged selection of nenic already cut up. “Do you have something weak and alcoholic, maybe something made from fermented grains?” Tony asked.

“Your master asked for this?” The slave looked alarmed.

“He wants it, even if he hasn’t asked yet. Can you grab me some, please?”

The slave held his gaze for a second, and then bowed his head. “Yes, hem.” With that, he darted away, and Tony found himself alone in the corridor—alone as in no guards. Security was a little uneven, but that was an advantage he could take advantage of if they had any sort of plan. Tony headed back inside, and Gibbs was now standing near the windows looking into space. Tony hurried over, holding the tray out. Gibbs took it and set it on the ledge, leaving Tony nothing to do with his hands. He took a step backward, planning to retreat, but Gibbs caught his arm.

Not wanting to make a scene about equal rights and human dignity, Tony slipped to his knees at Gibbs’ feet and bowed his head. This was screwing up some prime sexual fantasy material for him. The next time he played with some Dom, he was going to end up having flashbacks to evil alien overlords. Clichéd evil alien overlords.

“It’s true,” Kali said quietly. “They have no memories left.”

“You did this,” Samas was speaking, and he stroked Tony’s hair. Tony had definitely missed something, and he leaned into Samas’ leg, offering the only support he could as long as they were trapped in this room. Samas paused and then returned to petting him.

“None of us would have done such a thing, Samas,” Kali said with an earnestness that made Tony believe that she meant whatever she was saying.

“How then?”

Ba’al sounded either bored or amused, it was hard to tell. “Does it matter?” he asked. “The homeworld onac are as good as dead. They’re animals, stripped of their sentience.”

Gibbs shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. They’re still sentient.”

“You are the most stubborn creature in the universe, Samas.” Ba’al laughed, and it occurred to Tony that the reason he couldn’t get a read on the bastard because Ba’al was a true sociopath. Kali clearly cared about things… now they weren’t the things that Tony would prefer she cared about, but she cared. Ba’al seemed amused by others’ pain. “Do you want us to bring these damaged onac to you?”

Gibbs turned. “Yes.”

Tony held perfectly still and waited as the room grew artificially quiet. 

“Samas,” Kali finally said, “Apophis attempted to place his memories into a human child. Would he have done that if there were any way for our species to reproduce?”

“Perhaps none of the queens will speak to you after you slaughtered so many of them,” Gibbs pointed out dryly.

“Perhaps we could use your slave to test the onac,” Ba’al suggested.

Tony forced himself to breathe. Ba’al was trying to aggravate them, and Tony just leaned into Samas’ leg again.

“If it is genetically acceptable, I would allow several onac to fight for him, but I will not hold him down and allow some worm into my slave,” Samas said.

Ba’al chuckled. “Either he is unique among tau’ri or you may find him less amenable than you expect.”

“Is that right, Tony?” Samas gave his hair a tug, and Tony looked up. “Will you fight if I order you into a pool of onac all desperate for a host?”

Tony took a deep breath and looked up at Samas. “Boss, I would go into the water without hesitation, but I would fight the onac because I don’t want some weak thing in me. If I carry one of you, I want you to be proud of me and the onac I carry.” Tony held Samas’ gaze. Samas took a second to run the back of his finger over Tony’s cheek, and then he looked back at Ba’al. 

“Gibbs did the same thing. He came closer to killing me than any other human, and that made him worthy to carry me longer than any of them. You get your onac, and if they are truly damaged as you say, I will know. If they are not, we will have Tony join us.”

Tony looked over, and Ba’al was studying him. Tony held his gaze and let his head rest against Samas’ knee. After a second, Ba’al walked over, his long robes sliding across the floor until he stood in front of them. Samas didn’t react, so Tony dropped his gaze and waited. The slave stuff he didn’t mind, but the having to be respectful to a psychopath annoyed him. Samas started petting him again, and Tony breathed out, focusing on the job and not the goa’uld in front of him. That became infinitely more difficult when Ba’al reached down and cupped Tony’s chin, forcing Tony to look up at him.

“Your master would put a god in you—give your body over to another so you became nothing more than the vessel for the god you would serve with your life.”

Tony glanced over, but Samas was only watching him.

“If Samas believes I need to carry an onac, I will. I will do whatever the boss thinks I should—I have for years, and I’m too old to change now.”

Ba’al waited, his fingers pressing into Tony’s face. After long seconds, he let go and gave Samas a smile. “He speaks truthfully. I had heard of the power of queens to demand loyalty.”

“He is mine. Touch him again and I will rip you out of your host and leave you to die on the floor like I did your disgusting offspring.” And that was Gibbs. Tony his hand around Gibbs’ ankle and slipped his thumb under the hem of his pants so he could stroke the skin below. 

Ba’al watched with undisguised amusement. Turning, he pointed to one of the slave. “Bring assorted foods to the music room. Come, Samas, join us.” Ba’al headed for one of the doors behind the throne.

“I need a beer,” Gibbs complained softly.

“I already asked one of the slaves to find something for you,” Tony said. He stood up and grabbed the tray. Gibbs gave him a strange look, but then nodded before following Ba’al. Tony followed him, and he couldn’t miss the pained expression on Kali’s face as she watched Gibbs pass. These people were all screwed up, that’s for sure.

Tony had that confirmed as he walked into the music room. Slaves played music off to the side and mostly naked women wandered the room, twitching their hips until Ba’al held out a hand, and then they joined him on oversized couches. 

A slave came over with a large drink and offered it to Gibbs. “Your servant requested this for you, my lord.” Gibbs took it with a grunt, which seemed to give the slave permission to leave, and he hurried away. Gibbs went and sat on the couch to Ba’al’s left, and Tony followed, kneeling down at Gibbs’ side and holding the tray up so it balanced on Gibbs’ knee.

Gibbs grabbed the tray and moved it to the cushion on the other side. Then he grabbed Tony’s collar, giving him a gentle tug. Tony got the hint. He crawled up to Gibbs’ side and curled into him the same way Ba’al’s women were doing on the other couch.

Ba’al smiled and leaned back. “We shall end up being great friends,” Ba’al told Samas. He closed his eyes as his women started to stroke him. Kali stood off to the side looking intensely uncomfortable behind her veil. It certainly set her off from the slave girls.

“I will never birth your children,” Gibbs said. Samas had definitely taken a backseat, and Tony wished he understood why. He was afraid that Samas had been hit pretty hard by the news that his people had just gone on the endangered species list, but Tony couldn’t really talk about that here.

Ba’al laughed. “No need. Once we have healthy onac, we can figure out what is causing the damage to our bodies. Kali and I plan to live forever, don’t we?” 

“Yes,” Kali agreed. Oddly, Tony didn’t believe her. Gibbs started rubbing Tony’s back, and Tony let his head rest against Gibbs’ side as he curled up on the couch. They’d figure out a plan later. Right now, all Tony could do was make Gibbs look stronger simply by being the slave these people seemed to expect.


	14. Chapter 14

Tony stumbled into their rooms. He had to lean heavily on Gibbs, and the second he pulled free from that stabilizing force, he careened toward the couch, stopping only when he face-planted into it.

"Sry, boss," he said into the cushion. Sleep. Sleep would be good. However, when Gibbs started pulling at his arm, Tony cooperated and rolled over. Of course, he hadn't been entirely on the couch, so that made him slide down onto the floor.

"I don't even remember drinking," Tony said. The world spun around him, and two Gibbses looked down on him. That was just wrong.

"Come on, don't make me do all the work," Gibbs complained as he got his hands under Tony's arms. Tony complied by pushing up with his legs, but he did it with so much force that he leaped into the air before falling back onto the couch in an undignified sprawl.

"That was some good stuff." If all the slaves got that kind of happy juice, Tony now understood why they worshipped the goa'uld. Oh, Tony didn't approve, but he'd worked narcotics long enough to know the lengths human beings would go for a good fix. Tony could only hope this shit wasn't addictive because it was definitely good.

"I know this is hard for you, and I didn’t want you to make the others suspicious with any feelings of discomfort you might have," Gibbs said. Maybe it was the drugs, but that didn't actually make sense.

"Feelings?"

"Onac don’t have verbal language, Tony. We use chemicals on to communicate images and feelings, and human skin does have some of those same chemicals."

"Oh." Tony frowned and tried to get him eyes to focus on Gibbs. He got to the point where there was only one of him, although he was a little blurry around the edges. "You thought I was faking it."

"You offered to host an onac, Tony."

"Boss, you never did get it, did you?" Tony chuckled. Considering that Gibbs knew everything, how could he have missed the most obvious fact of Tony's existance?

"Get what, Tony?"

"Undercover work."

"I’ve done plenty of undercover work. Hell, my whole life since Samas has been one big undercover mission. I may not be as good at it as you are, but I do get it."

Tony grinned and let his head flop back onto the couch. "Nope. You don’t. I never do undercover work, boss."

"What?"

Any other day Tony would have reveled a little in the glory of confusing Gibbs. Not now. Now he needed Gibbs to be the all-knowing boss. "I let myself feel everything. You remember Jeffery White, right boss?"

Gibbs frowned. “Murderer who stole antiquities from Iraq, geeky guy who liked to carve people up. You shot him.”

“Which really hurt because I liked him,” Tony said. Reality was wavering a little around him, and he let himself enjoy the sense of disconnect from his body. “Part of me wanted to run off with him and protect him from all the bullies in his life, and the agent part of me was locked down in this little box. That’s how I do undercover, boss. I always feel everything. I loved Jeanne. Wanted to live with her and have little doctor babies.”

Gibbs didn't answer right away. His fingers stroked Tony's hair. "Oh, Tony."

"Love you too, boss. Always have. But I’m too good with undercover to say that. I started young, you know.” Tony frowned. How much of that had he actually said out loud?

“Oh? How young?”

"I was worse than McGeek, but I made up Tony DiNozzo and I lived him until I was him.”

Gibbs' fingers kept petting him, and Tony felt himself drift toward sleep. "That must require much work, Tony."

"Yep. Worth it. The dork I was back in school never would have been an agent. Will it hurt when the onac gets inside me?"

Gibbs' fingers stilled, but they still rested against Tony's head. "A little, Tony. It’s like a sore throat."

"Okay."

"It won’t damage you."

"Okay."

"If I said it would hurt like hell and trap you inside your body, would you object, even then?"

"You never try and fight back with bullies, boss. You know that. You stand there and prove you can take it without flinching. Well, unless you can kick their ass, and then you do that. Mostly I got good at taking it."

"You’re going to hate yourself tomorrow, Tony. I really didn’t think the nish’ta would have this much of an effect on a human."

Tony forced his eyes open long enough to look at Gibbs, and he seemed genuinely upset.

"No biggie. I’ll sleep it off.”

"Yes, sleep might be the best solution." Tony yelped when Gibbs scooped him up like a damsel in distress and carried him toward the bedroom. That was not a Gibbs thing to do.

"Samas?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I am here."

"You were the one who gave me the happy juice. How did you do that?"

"I breathe it out through the host's mouth. I gave you only a very small dose, and I am truly apologetic about the strength of your reaction." Samas lowered him into bed, tucking his legs under the covers. They'd shared the bed last night, but it was so big that Tony hadn't even felt noticed him. Now Samas sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his forehead.

"A little bit of danger in the bedroom is fun, but these guys are ruining my favorite slave fantasies," Tony said. He rolled toward Samas and his stomach ended up pressed against Samas.

"Do you have such fantasies?"

"Yep. Gibbs would call that weak, though." Tony frowned. Wait. He shouldn't be admitting that, not out loud.

"Gibbs certainly would not. He is confused because he sees slavery as inherently harmful, but he does not believe you weak. If it makes you feel better, Gibbs is at odds with my own views on slavery.”

“What? Harem girls in genii outfits?” Tony started giggling as he thought about Gibbs surrounded with a dozen of ‘em. He’d shoot someone.

“I always thought that by now I would nest. I would have dozens of suitors around me, all of them willing to enslave themselves to me and my offspring in the hope that I would choose their DNA and their memories to spawn new onac. Gibbs struggles to reconcile that with his own views.”

“I bet,” Tony said with a snort. His eyes were falling closed.

“He probably thinks we both need a shrink.”

“He is very fond of you. We both are, Tony.” Samas petted Tony’s naked back, and a shiver went down Tony’s spine. “You are the only one who has ever stood up to us when we were wrong,” Samas confessed.

Tony shook his head. "Nope. Ra did that."

"Ra kept me in a weak vessel—a girl hardly old enough to know her own thoughts, one raised with the certain knowledge that she was useless except as a host, and therefore she didn’t know how to read or think for herself. Being in her was… disturbing. I much prefer Gibbs. Together we are able to command the proper respect."

Tony started giggling.

"The Nish’ta may take more time to wear off than I had anticipated. An electrical shock could clear your mind."

"Aww boss, you want to electrocute me? Why don’t you use this stuff on Ba’al?"

“The nish’ta is used when a queen nests. I would gather those whose DNA I planned to use, dose them with nish’ta to ensure they did not pose a danger to the young onac and then settle in to hundreds of eggs that would hatch within hours of reaching the water. But once an onac has been taken into a queen’s nest, he can never belong to another queen. They develop an immunity to nish’ta.”

“So Ba’al belongs to another queen? If he has another queen, why does he need you?”

Samas ran his hand down Tony's arm. “No, he doesn’t belong to anyone. But he smells of nish’ta residue, so I suspect that he has taken a dose to give himself immunity. The queens who rebelled against Ra relied on the nish’ta, believing it would help them win their war, so the goa’uld know the danger. The queens should not have used it to take over those who would fight them, and the goa’uld should not have rendered themselves immune. So much is wrong.”

"Your people are kind of twisted."

"As are your, Tony. Gibbs has gone places where human beings perform great atrocities and claim to do it in the name of righteousness."

"Crazy people are crazy in any universe. Ba’al is crazy, by the way."

"Yes, I am aware."

“Okay,” Tony said. Reality was getting blurry, but he could feel it when Samas stood up. Tony reached out and caught his arm.

“No, don’t leave.”

Samas sat back down, his heat pressing into Tony. “You need to rest.”

“You could rest too.” Tony scooted farther into the bed, still holding Samas’ shirt. While he could have fought, Tony heard the sigh that meant he was giving in. “Tell me about the slave stuff Gibbs gets all weird about. I bet I’m way less judgmental.”

“I think you are,” Samas said. The bed tilted as he climbed in, and then Gibbs’ arms were around Tony. That felt right.

“Onac come to a queen to be found worthy, and if they are chosen for the nish’ta, they are allowed to stay. It is not something a queen forces on them. The nish’ta allows them to stop fighting each other and to yield to the queen and help care for the offspring. It is the only time we live in large social groups. Otherwise we are solitary creatures once we reach adulthood.”

“Voluntary slaves.”

“Yes,” Samas agreed. “But the goa’uld have twisted that as they have twisted all else our people once held dear. They tell each other that slavery is natural to our species, and it is, but they will not admit how far they have altered the original traditions.”

“Maybe we should avoid telling O’Neill that slavery is normal for you,” Tony suggested.

Samas’ arms tightened around him. “Yes, I had taken that into consideration.”

“It’s not so bad volunteering to be a slave, as long as you trust the person doing it will only do what you want.”

“Slavery means you don’t get a choice about what you want,” Samas said. At least Tony thought it was Samas. The voice had shifted. Maybe it was Gibbs.

“That’s why it’s more fun to play at being a slave than to be one in real life,” Tony said sadly. The arms around him tightened even more, and Tony let himself drift off to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony woke feeling rumbled and sore and a little like a small animal had died in his mouth. All the common suspects for a hangover had shown up, with the unique exception of a headache. He lay in bed staring at the ornate drapes hung around the bed, and slowly the memories seeped back in.

Shit.

Tony sat straight up and looked around, but there was no sign of Gibbs. Of course not. That sort of emotional diarrhea was almost designed to send Gibbs into full retreat. He didn't do emotions. Ever. The man had hidden an entire marriage and dead child for years, and Tony had only found out because the damn goa'uld digging into Gibbs' past had poked that particular part of Gibbs' past and Tony had run across the evidence of Shannon Gibbs' death in old NIS files when he'd been chasing wild leads.

But Gibbs share an honest emotion? Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Tony groaned. And here he'd gone and emotionally vomited on the man. He'd shared fucking sexual fantasies, and yes, he'd shared them with Samas, but Samas shared a body with Gibbs, so it wasn't like he hadn't heard.

Well, the damage was done.

Tony forced his stiff muscles to carry him out of bed and into the lavish bathroom. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, and he definitely looked older than usual. After taking a second to run water over his face and finger comb his hair, Tony went in search of clothes.

Gibbs might be doing his avoid-at-all-costs routine, but as his second, it was Tony's job to make sure he followed. Either that or it was his job to avoid Gibbs until he calmed down and keep others out of the potential blast area. The worst part was that with Gibbs you never truly knew which you were supposed to be doing.

One slave shirt later, and Tony was ready to face the world. Maybe. He still felt rough, but the universe wasn't going to wait for him to get over his nish'ta hangover. He had always been overly susceptible to narcotics. They made him loopy. However, who knew that his lack of tolerance expended to alien drugs made by mating queens? Tony imagined trying to explain that drug sensitivity to his doctor back home. That would be amusing. He’d end up in the funny farm, but it would almost be worth it.

Bracing himself for potential refusal and physical abuse, Tony triggered the door and faced the two jaffa guards waiting outside.

"Hem?" one asked. Tony was surprised by the lack of weapon pointing and bluster, but it was a good sign. He gave them his best grin.

"Have you seen..." Gibbs was on the tip of his tongue, but he caught that in time. "Lord Samas?" he finished.

"Your lord has gone to speak to Lord Ba'al about our arrival," one of the guards offered, which was more information than Tony expected. Sometimes it was good to be seen as the harmless one, a strategy that Tony had tried to teach Ziva and Tim to absolutely no effect.

"Did he request you follow?" the second guard asked.

"Request? No," Tony admitted. "I'm just trying to figure out if he would want me there or if having me there would make him irrationally cranky."

The second guard smiled at him sympathetically. "He appeared quite calm and not in need of assistance. I can ask those in attendance if he appears in need of your services," he offered.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Tony said with a smile. Taking favors was as important as giving them when trying to build rapport, but if Gibbs was calm, Tony didn't need to stir the emotional pot. If Gibbs spent too much time thinking about Tony's sexual preference for play slavery, he was going to have all sorts of not-calm things to say, so calm meant Gibbs was focused on something else. Tony didn't want to distract him from that.

The jaffa spoke into his version of a radio and then said to Tony, "Lords Ba'al, Samas and Kali speak to one another, and none appear to have need of their slaves."

Tony nodded. He wished he could go and stand on the side and just be there, but he would probably be a distraction at this point. Lord Ba'al was on his own, so hopefully he wouldn't do anything terminally stupid so that Samas ate him. Or if Samas did eat him, hopefully the jaffa would see that as a coup and take Samas’ orders long enough to drop them off back on Earth.

"Your lord left a message," the first jaffa said. "When he left, he said that when you awoke, we should tell you that your enemies now prisoners of Lord Ba'al, so you no longer had to concern yourself."

"Our enemies?" Tony couldn't help the flash of confusion. It seemed to put the two jaffa on edge.

"You do not understand the message?" one asked, clearly uncomfortable with the very idea.

"Sure I get it, but honestly, you have to be more specific about which enemies because Samas tends to make a lot of them. Hell, half the people we're allies with don't actually like him all that much. He tends to make them look like idiots and steal their best followers before costing them their status."

The friendlier of the jaffa smiled. "Ah. Lord Ba'al is much the same way. They are well paired, then. The enemy of which your lord speaks attempted to keep you from coming with Lord Samas when we brought him up."

"O'Neill?" Tony's voice cracked.

"Yes," the jaffa agreed.

"Oh, that is not going to put Samas in a good mood at all. Nope." Tony ran a hand over his face.

"Lord Ba'al will dispose of the villains," the older jaffa said, and Tony almost laughed. Villains. Right. O’Neill’s sense of humor was twisted enough that the comment would probably amuse him.

"I should go and find some food, check on the status of Lord Samas' wardrobe. You know, slave stuff," Tony said. It was time for him to start figuring out the layout of more than the hallway from their quarters to the main meeting rooms and back. He held his breath, waiting to see how the jaffa would take his request.

"The ship is difficult to navigate, hem. Is there a slave you wish to assist you in your tasks?" The friendlier, younger of the two jaffa looked at Tony with such perfect innocence that Tony had to wonder where they got these guys. You didn't let people wander around your ships, not without a military escort. Tony had been planning on trying to find ways to ditch his guard, but he hadn't expected it to be this easy.

“Stelli was helpful."

"Who?" The jaffa seemed confused.

"The slave who brought the food yesterday," Tony explained.

The older jaffa offered, "The sedjemash."

"I shall call for him, hem. He will be here shortly."

Tony took that as an invitation to go back into his room and wait. Since that's what a good slave would do and Tony was playing at being a good slave, he offered a quick thanks and retreated. They had dropped out of hyperspace so the space around them was black with tiny, distant stars glimmering faintly. Standing at the window and looking out into space, he thought about what he'd told Samas. He really didn't pretend while he was undercover. That sort of pretense got cops killed, so despite all the warnings about identifying with the target, Tony had always let himself sink into the cover identity. Tony DiNozzo was only a role, so it was easy enough to move into another.

But if they couldn't break free of Ba'al, Tony might have a very long life in a very uncomfortable position. He had no doubt that an onac would share control with him. Samas shared with Gibbs, after all. But if they didn't have personalities like Ba'al said, Tony might inherit an onac equivalent of a child. He'd be stuck raising some rugrat who lived in his skull. Tony didn't actually like kids, but he'd make himself like them if that's what it took to back Gibbs' play.

And Tony had come to terms with all that. He had. Adding O'Neill into the mix had just changed the equations a little. Well, the first step was gathering some intel. The rest would have to wait.

The door chimed, and Tony went over to answer it.

"Hem." Stelli stood waiting on the other side, and he bowed deeply. "Do you have some task for me?"

"Yeah, I needed a tour guide, but I told you to not give me all that bowing stuff. Save that for the lords." Tony smiled at him, and Stelli seemed momentarily alarmed.

He stood straighter, but kept his eyes on the floor. "Yes, hem. I am very pleased to hear that your lord has chosen you to carry a god."

Tony nodded. "Lord Samas never had a problem with that. He just didn't want one of Lord Ba'al's onac in me. He's territorial."

"Most gods are," One of the jaffa agreed amiably. 

Tony noticed that Stelli kept his head down and a safe distance from the jaffa. Tony would have to be an idiot to miss the power dynamics going on here, and he wasn’t an idiot. However, the jaffa were. It was time to see how far Tony could push them. “So,” Tony asked cheerfully, “how about you show me to that beautiful woman who makes the clothes? I have a few suggestions for colors and styles Samas might like, and then I want a few non-perishable foods for our quarters, and Samas will definitely ask about the prisoners and how far away they are, so I should probably check on that before he gets back. I also need to check on some jewelry—I need someone who can do some more subtle, smaller pieces. Samas is not a fan of flashy, and the belts we have are a little on the over-the-top side. Finally, I have to figure out the laundry situation. The sheets are on the silky side, and Samas prefers something with more cotton. Soft wins over sleek when it comes to the boss’s bedding.”

Stelli looked at him with wide eyes.

“And I need to do all that before the boss gets back,” Tony added. So far neither of the guards had batted an eye at Tony checking the prisoners. Yeah, they were idiots.

“How long will you lord be gone?” Stelli asked.

“I have no idea,” Tony admitted.

Stelli gave a curt nod. “Then we must hurry, hem. If the order of your tasks does not matter to you, I would suggest for the sake of time that we handle laundry, bedding, clothing, jewelry, the prisoners, and then food.”

“Reverse those last two, and we have an agenda. Lead away, and I’ll follow.” Tony looked at the guards. “Are you guys going to stay here?”

The older jaffa looked at him for a second before he shook his head and got that exasperated expression Fornell sometimes got when Tony talked. “Infiltrators will attempt to place listening devises or poison in the private quarters of their betters in order to attack the true gods. Any rooms used by one of the lords are guarded at all times.”

“Oh.” Tony grimaced. “Sneak attacks on someone’s bedroom seems like a shitty way to handle things. I mean, if Samas is unhappy, he tends to get right in your face and let you know, not sneak around.”

The jaffa gave a slight nod, a slight tilting of his head. “Lord Samas has honor, hem. Do not fail your lord by assuming that others do as well.”

Tony nodded. “I honestly don’t know all the rules or dangers up here, so if you see me doing something that could be dangerous, you’ll let me know, right?” Tony used his most helpless expression, the one he’d once used to convince a drug dealer that he wasn’t a cop even after the drug dealer found a picture of him in a uniform on the internet. The jaffa smiled kindly.

“I shall. Now attend your lord’s tasks.”

“I will. Thank you.” 

After Stelli gave the two jaffa a deep bow, Tony gave them a small one and then trotted after Stelli. Stelli was already talking, explaining as he strode through the corridors at a surprisingly fast pace. “Laundry is on each level. One must arrange a time for them to come and take the laundry if you place it in a bag near the door, but you should pick it up yourself. Do not give access to your lord’s quarters. The same facilities offer a range of bedding, so we can choose new bedding and drop it off at your quarters before moving on to the clothing and jewelry. Artisans and craftsman are several levels below us.”

Stelli started explaining the basic layout of the ship, and Tony listened carefully, mentally mapping the information as best he could. He had no idea if he’d be able to help O’Neill and his merry band of villains, but Tony knew one thing—he had to try. After all, if Gibbs hadn’t wanted him on a rescue mission, he wouldn’t have made a point of having the jaffa tell him about their capture. And Tony knew one thing: if Gibbs wanted O’Neill rescued, Tony was going to do his best to make it happen.


	16. Chapter 16

Tony stopped at the door. The level opened into a long hallway with cells on either side. This was definitely not the ultra-modern room where Ba’al had locked up him and Gibbs. “Give me a second. I’m going to go talk to them,” Tony said with a smile. The guard ignored him, but Stelli gave him a very odd look.

“They’re dangerous, hem.”

Tony smiled at him. “So am I. Samas would have me if I weren’t.” Neither Stelli nor the guard looked particularly convinced by that. If anything, the guard was trying to avoid looking amused. “Really, they’re behind bars. I’m fine,” Tony said, “but I need to give Lord Samas a report, and I can’t really do that if I stand here and look at them.”

“Stay back from the bars, hem,” the jaffa commented, and with that, he seemed to think the conversation was over. In terms of providing actual security, the security on this ship sucked.

“I will. Thank you for the advice,” Tony offered as kindly as he could. O’Neill was so going to shoot this guy dead by the end of the day. After all, any covert ops soldier that Gibbs admired could pretty much kill with a look. “Wait here,” Tony told Stelli, and then he headed into the mostly empty section.

O’Neill had stood the second the door opened, as had Murray, but now the woman, Carter, stood up and Daniel. All four stood near the bars. Tony walked close and stopped right outside the range of Murray’s freakishly long arms. He wouldn’t put it past these guys to take him hostage, and Ba’al didn’t seem like the sort to negotiate for a slave’s release.

“Well look who showed up,” O’Neill said. He put his arms through the bars and rested them on the cross pieces. “Why am I not surprised?”

“O’Neill,” Tony greeted him. “Weirdly I am surprised. Why are you here?”

“I'm looking for you, but now that I see you, I'm wondering why we bothered. You look like you're fitting in fine.” O’Neill looked him up and down, and Tony was suddenly painfully aware of just how well he fit in with the other slaves. However, he wasn’t about to let O’Neill and the others see him sweat.

He grinned. “That's me. I fit I'm anywhere. You, however, kind of stand out. The jaffa call you villains, which is a little amusing, except for the part where they're going to kill you.”

O’Neill rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah. They always want to kill me. It's a thing.”

“And then there was that time they did kill you, over and over again,” Daniel said. He sounded a little less blasé about having been captured.

“I got over it,” O’Neill said with the same sort of negligent disregard for his own injuries that Gibbs sometimes showed. Gibbs generally wasn’t as obnoxiously amused by it all, though. O’Neill was definitely not playing with a full deck.

“So, how did you land here?” Tony asked.

O’Neill actually turned around and walked away, or at least as far as he could, which translated into the back of the cell where he leaned against the wall. Daniel answered. “The evidence you found… the fibers and the shoe prints… they pointed to a woman. There are a limited number of goa’uld women around who are old enough to remember Shamash.”

“Two, actually. Kali and Amaterasu,” Tony said. That still didn’t explain how they’d ended up here.

“We were supposed to be meeting someone on one of the planets Kali recently abandoned,” Daniel explained.

“She hadn’t really abandoned it, had she?” Tony asked, cringing as he imagined how well that had gone. Kali wasn’t as psychopathically crazy as Ba’al, so he could see her people staying loyal, even if she’d left.

“Ya think?” O’Neill demanded. “So, you seem oddly up on goa’uld politics.”

“You overhear a lot hanging out in the throne room,” Tony agreed.

Murray tilted his head and gave Tony a very odd look. However, O’Neill seemed to take the conversation over again. “Do that a lot, do you?”

Tony shrugged. “Someone has to keep Samas from eating any more baby goa’uld. He’s oddly unamused at how they’ve all turned into parasites.”

“Unlike him. He’s not a parasite living in Gibbs’ brain, not at all.” O’Neill’s sarcasm was starting to wear on Tony. Instead of engaging, Tony took a cue from Gibbs’ interrogation techniques. He put his basket down, crossed his arms and waited. Yep. He could do silent. He could totally do silent.

Daniel looked back and forth between Tony and O’Neill, and Murray raised an eyebrow, but other than that, the place got weirdly quiet. Tony was starting to think he’d misjudged when O’Neill sighed and caved in.

“What are you doing in here? Keep in mind that we will get out of this, so if you plan to gloat, I wouldn’t. I will remember it, and I will hold it against you when I have the P90 and you’re behind bars.”

“Why would you assume I would gloat? We're on the same side.”

“Really? It doesn't look like that from here. In fact it looks like we're in the cell and you're standing outside it with... are those Danish?” O’Neill peered at Tony’s basket.

“An alien version of them,” Tony said as he picked the basket up again. “I wasn’t sure anyone was feeding you guys.”

“So you brought donuts?” O’Neill demanded in an incredulous voice. “I'm not sure I even want to understand your logic.”

“Hey. I'm trying to be nice. I come bearing food after all.” Tony lifted the basket. He’d specifically stopped by the kitchens so he could bring them dinner. Tony glanced toward the distant door to see how Stelli and the jaffa were handling this conversation, but the door was closed and no one seemed to be paying attention. In NCIS headquarters, that would have been a sure sign of hidden surveillance. Around here, Tony was almost positive it was one more piece of proof that these guys sucked at being evil overlords unless they happened to be evil overlording over people who were already terrified and beaten down.

“Try to come bearing a cake with a file in it and some C4,” O’Neill suggested.

“Or a computer interface,” Carter suggested.

“If I had a file and C4 or a computer, you'd be my first stop. But since I'm missing both I come with pastries and fruit." Tony held the basket close enough for them to reach. “The good news is that you're in the long term, deal with them when you get around to it prison.”

“We know. Believe it or not this isn't our first rodeo.” O’Neill sounded like he was annoyed with Tony for breathing, but he was quickly emptying the basket, passing items back to the others. He had taken half the pastries and most of the fruit when Tony pulled it back.

“Leave me something to take to Gibbs' quarters or this is going to look really strange.”

“Right, because it looks normal right now.” O’Neill shook his head. “We’ll do our best to spring you when we get out of here, but my people come first. You shouldn’t have gotten involved in this, DiNozzo.”

“I’ve been Gibbs’ senior field agent for a long time, and I’m not going to walk away from the boss. He does lots of things amazing well, but he’s used to me having his six. I’ve got skills I bring to the table too, colonel.”

“Right, like fetching food and hanging out in the throne room in case Samas needs to order someone around.” O’Neill nodded.

“You don’t know anything.”

“Then tell me something I don’t know,” O’Neill demanded. Tony could feel his blood pressure rise.

Daniel stepped up to the bars. “We know you’re loyal to Gibbs, and team members should be loyal,” Daniel said in a soothing voice. The look he shot Jack was less soothing. “But these people are more dangerous than you understand. They see you as an inferior life form, and they will implant you with one of these parasites.”

“Ba’al already tried. Gibbs put his foot down, and here I am, still ungoa’ulded.”

Tony watched while the others traded concerned looks.

“Honestly, Samas came out of Gibbs’ head and ripped the symbiote in half before it could get in me. I’m well aware of the dangers here. Gibbs already told Ba’al that if he could find an onac, not a parasitic goa’uld but an onac, that he would have me carry it.”

All emotion vanished from O’Neill’s face. There was death in the expression he wore now, and Tony could feel the danger skim across his skin.

“I want to say right now that there is a difference between the goa’uld and the onac. I have already told Gibbs that I trust his judgment.”

“Newsflash,” O’Neill barked out, his voice low and furious. “He’s a couple of thousand years old, and he didn’t get that old by playing nice. You’re going to end up locked up inside your own head, watching your hands torture people to death.”

“Jack!”

“Telling the truth, Danny. These assholes took Sha’re and Skaara.”

Daniel came and stood next to O’Neill. “I know.”

O’Neill looked at Tony. “If you let a snake in your head, you’ll be more sorry than us. We’re only scheduled for execution. But you’re in so deep that you can’t even see a way out.”

“No,” Tony said, “I can’t. But I’ll follow Gibbs, and if he can do something to help, I’m sure he will. However, you can’t assume he’s the same as the goa’uld. I’ve seen them together, and trust me, there’s no love lost. Look, I have to go.”

“Wait,” Daniel called. “Do you know where we are?”

Tony shook his head. “No. Gibbs demanded that if Ba’al wanted a snake in me that he had to get them from the onac homeworld, but I don’t know if that’s where he’s brought us. I do know that we stopped, but other than that, I can’t say. I don’t get invited to the briefings. I’m only a hem, after all.”

Murray spoke for the first time. “The position of the hem is always precarious. Others will kill you to gain your rank, and you will be the first sacrificed if your lord’s plans go awry.” He spoke the words softly, and he had that same tone so many of the jaffa did, as if he were trying to help someone who was clearly not bright enough to know he was in trouble.

“I know,” Tony said. “If Gibbs has to sacrifice me, it’ll be because he has a plan that he can’t afford to have fail.” Tony didn’t add that after Tony’s drunken confessions, Gibbs might actually avoid him for the rest of the trip. He wondered what Ba’al would do if Tony suddenly seemed to fall out of favor. Tony was guessing it wouldn’t be good. “But I don’t want to weaken Gibbs’ hand here, so I need to head back to our quarters and change the sheets and lay out some new clothes. The work of a slave is never done.” Tony gave them a cheeky grin and headed back toward the door. If they got out of this, he suspected that O’Neill would either shoot him or have him locked up in a funny farm. The way his luck was going, that might not even be a bad idea.


	17. Chapter 17

The door chimed, and Tony went to answer it, expecting Stelli or the jaffa. Instead, Ba’al stood there in all his black and unctuous glory. 

“Lord Ba’al.” Tony backed up and tried to figure out what he should do. He kept his gaze down, but other than that, he was definitely in the dark here—a really bad sort of dark.

“Tony.” Ba’al had that overly friendly voice going that made Tony want to throw up. 

“Does Lord Samas need me?” Tony looked behind Ba’al, but Gibbs wasn’t there.

“I thought we might speak.” Ba’al walked over to the couch and sat. Now Tony definitely didn’t know what to do. Looking down at a goa’uld while hovering over him felt painfully dangerous, but sitting next to Ba’al didn’t seem any better, and kneeling… yeah, he wasn’t going there. “Come here, Tony.”

“Okay, I really don’t know the rules here. Samas’ main rule is to not draw attention and do my job well, and those two don’t seem all that important here.” Tony inched closer.

“Come, kneel in front of me,” Ba’al ordered.

Shock stopped Tony cold, and he looked at Ba’al for several long seconds before he realized he was staring straight at Ba’al’s face. Then he dropped his gaze.

“That bothers you.” Ba’al sounded amused.

“You’re not my Lord Samas,” Tony answered. “I would prefer he be here.”

“He is not. Come. Kneel.”

Tony didn’t have a lot of illusions here. He had no power, no weapons, and no ability to defend himself against Ba’al. Maybe O’Neill was right about him being an idiot for coming, but if so, he could only play this through. Tony walked slowly over and knelt down as far from Ba’al as he could.

“Closer.” Ba’al opened his legs and gestured to the space between his knees. “You and I must talk.”

Tony shuffled forward, his body tense with fear. When Ba’al reached out to stroke his cheek, Tony flinched away only to have Ba’al catch his chin and hold him. 

“You are not used to being handled.”

“Only by Samas and Gibbs,” Tony said honestly. 

Ba’al made a little humming noise. “Samas could have great power if she would bend a little.”

“Not really in her nature,” Tony said.

“No. It is not.” Ba’al stroked his fingers through Tony’s hair. “You will soon be one of us.”

Tony chewed on his lower lip and stared at Ba’al’s knees. 

“You have a choice. You can guide your queen onto a path of power or watch her fall as all the other queens have.”

Tony looked up at Ba’al’s face for a second, and then dropped his gaze back down. His knees hurt from the hard floor, but he was starting to get an inkling of the plan. Ba’al thought to control him and use him to control Gibbs. It didn’t matter what sort of game Ba’al played, Gibbs was not going to be tamed. It wouldn’t happen.

“What are you thinking?”

“That Samas would never let me guide her onto any path. She makes her own choices.”

Ba’al laughed. “But you have already shown skill at helping ease her into decisions. I understand what it means to be the power in the shadows. I can help you, young one. More importantly, I can make sure your queen does not follow all the others. Queens are brutal and uncompromising. Those are not traits that inspire loyalty in others. After all, if you please her enough, she will eat you alive. That’s not really a reward most of us would seek out.”

“I’m a little big for her to eat,” Tony pointed out. He certainly didn’t have an onac in him, and no matter how aggressive Samas might be, he wasn’t large enough to eat a human. Tony was also starting to get a headache with the shifting pronouns, not that he was going to correct Lord Ba’al on the whole gender issue.

“True.” Ba’al let his hand rest on Tony’s shoulder. “What did you speak to the tau’ri about?”

Tony could feel the danger buzzing around his head. “About how they found us.”

“And how was that?” Ba’al tightened his fingers slightly.

Tony decided to go with the truth. When you didn’t know how much the enemy knew, it was always a great tactic, and as a bonus, bad guys just never saw it coming. They expected a lot of things—grandious bragging, threats, obfuscations, and outright lies, but honesty was their kryptonite. “Gibbs and I found evidence in his basement that a woman had been there… red silk fibers with what looked like gold, and footprints in the dust.”

“Kali used to be better than that. Her assassin skills are rusty.”

Despite a rising surge of sarcasm, Tony didn’t point out that forensics evidence had probably improved since her last visit to Earth.

“Nothing else?”

“They asked for C4, an explosive. I told them I was fresh out and offered them fruit.”

Ba’al hummed again. 

Tony shifted as his knees started to really ache. The slaves around here must have callouses on their kneecaps, but Tony’s knees were virgin soft. Okay, so maybe not virgin soft, but his sort of kinky play usually meant about sixty seconds on his knees before him and the guy he’d picked up ended up groping each other. This was getting painful.

Tapping his fingers against his knee, Ba’al announced, “We are at the onac homeworld. In a short while, we will join him on the planet, and you will cease to be a human.”

Tony nodded. He was wondering if that’s where they were. Gibbs had told Ba’al that he wanted a range of onac, so it did seem like it would be easier to go to them rather than have a whole tank of them brought to the ship. Then again, when a person had thousands of slaves, he could probably do whatever he felt like.

“You are not concerned?” Ba’al cupped Tony’s chin in his hand. Having the goa’uld look at him was a little like having the lions in the zoo watch you as you walked by their enclosure, only without the bars.

“I follow Samas. I always have, and I’ve never regretted it.”

Ba’al chuckled. “You are unique among tau’ri. However, remember what I said. Your queen is not invulnerable. A wise goa’uld makes alliances to protect his interests.”

Tony looked up. “Excuse my impertinence, Lord Ba’al,” he said. He nearly choked on the words because the B-movie cheesy dialogue was really too much for his irony button to handle. “But I will have a symbiote take over my body. Why would you think I had any say in what my body does after today?”

Ba’al ran the back of his finger down Tony’s cheek. “The onac are damaged. There will be more of you left than there should be. No harm to that. By the time a thousand years passes and you’re ready to take a new host, you’ll have the strength to take the body as you should.”

Tony blinked. Creepy. 

“You must be prepared.” Ba’al clapped his hands, and the doors opened. Startled, Tony surged to his feet as a dozen women hurried in. 

“Prepare him for implantation,” Ba’al said. He stood and walked out, and Tony was left facing half-naked women who closed in on him faster than he expected. They caught his arms, and pushed him back toward the bathroom. He couldn’t even get a word out before an older woman in an outfit that would have made Jeannie look demure called out. “Isadell, deal with his hair; Ada, jewelry. Dela and Telii, get him bathed and perfumed. Mapsha, you are in charge of nails, and do not forget his feet. Let’s make our prince look his part.”

“But….”

That’s all Tony got out before someone was grabbing his pants, and while he tried to hold them off, someone else got his shirt off him, and from there he pretty much lost the fight.


	18. Chapter 18

Tony put out a hand to keep his balance after the rings deposited him on uneven ground.

“Careful, hem,” one of the jaffa commented.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Tony figured that if he fell in the mud, it was going to take a dozen women another two hours to get him put back together. His arms were heavy with jewelry, he couldn't really see much around the high neck on the heavy cloak he wore. The woman had even painted his eyes. Dark lines traced the shape of his eyes and made him look like either a refugee from the cast of Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor or a rent boy. Getting assaulted by a bevy of half-dressed slave women was more fun in fantasy than in reality.

The jaffa spread out and started heading up a low hill, and Tony followed, careful to lift the embroidered cloak. They had barely cleared the area when the rings came down again, this time depositing Ba'al, Kali and more jaffa.

Tony stepped to the side and waited as Ba’al breezed by without a look. Kali followed in his wake, but she did pause to give him a long look. Oh yeah, the politics around here were worse than in SecNav’s office. Tony tried to imagine SecNav dealing with all these crazy goa’uld, but his imagination wasn’t that good.

“Hem,” one of the jaffa said when Tony didn’t get moving fast enough.

“Samas is waiting, right?” Tony asked. Sure, there wasn’t anything he could do if Gibbs and Samas weren’t down there, but he just needed someone to give him one word of comfort here. A half word, even.

The jaffa rested a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Your lord waits for you. He is not one with great patience, so do not make him wait too long.”

Tony huffed. “That’s no joke,” he said, but he gathered up his robes and followed the others. Both Ba’al and Kali seemed to have the whole cloak, cape, billowing clothes thing down. When they walked, the fabric billowed around them regally. Tony felt constantly one step away from faceplanting in the dirt, and he suspected the jaffa felt the same because the one who had talked to him hovered close, a hand near Tony’s elbow at all times.

They came to the crest of the hill, and looked down the other side, and now Tony could see Gibbs. He didn’t have the fancy outfits, but he was looking good in his black outfit and brilliant blue shirt. The sight of three members of O’Neill’s team made Tony stumble. The jaffa next to him caught him with a hand under his elbow, and Tony mumbled his thanks as he hurried down the hill. Ba’al was already facing off against Gibbs.

“Why are they here?”

Gibbs grunted but didn’t answer.

“We’re happy to go back to our cell if that helps you two with your little lovers’ spat,” O’Neill offered snidely. Then he turned and Tony could see the second O’Neill recognized him. The smirk grew wider.

“Well don’t you look cute?” O’Neill said.

“Jack,” Daniel said, his voice low and warning.

“This is a big day for you, isn’t it? You’re becoming a goa’uld. I guess that’s a step up from an NCIS agent.” O’Neill shifted, but with his hands tied behind his back, he couldn’t do much else. “You’re going to regret this.”

“Doubt that,” Tony said. “Now the makeup? I totally regret that.”

“You’re not the only one,” Gibbs said dryly.

“Sorry boss. The slave women were oddly insistent. So, is that where they are?” Tony looked at the calm pond. A lazy stream fed into the pond on the far side, and it was so utterly peaceful with the wind stirring through the trees that Tony felt a weird need to laugh at the irony. This was not feeling like the right sort of environment to get taken over by an alien. Tony felt like every alien invasion movie he’d ever watched had lied to him.

“Yep.”

“We need to talk, Samas,” Ba’al said. He raised his hand, and several of the jaffa stepped closer.

Gibbs turned and eyed Ba’al up and down. “This is my world and my choice,” Gibbs said coldly.

Ba’al didn’t seem ready to give up that easily. “Why are they here?”

Gibbs gave Ba’al a cold smile. “To bear witness. Tony, do not let the first one to reach you win.” Gibbs intentionally turned away from Ba’al and watched Tony. Everyone at NCIS said that Gibbs was impossible to read, but it wasn’t true. Tony could see the concern and guilt in every twitch. Tony gave Gibbs his best grin. 

“No problem, boss. So, do I have to be careful about how gentle I am when I turn them down?”

“Nope,” Gibbs said firmly.

“Okay then.” Tony started to shrug out of the heavy cloak. One of the jaffa stepped forward and took it from him. It sounded like Daniel calling out his name as Tony headed for the water, but Tony ignored it. He kept his eyes on the water as he stepped down onto the muddy bank. The water rippled, and Tony brought his hands up to defend himself.

He’d been afraid these creatures would be like the white, wormy thing that Ba’al had tried to put inside him, but the first onac to come at him had the same dragon-like fins as Samas. It was smaller and not as darkly colored, but it clearly had muscles because it flew out of the water at him. Tony barely slapped it aside with his hand, stumbling as he did so. A second onac came at him, and Tony caught this one with his hand. The creature screamed and writhed in Tony’s grip.

“Am I getting cursed at?” Tony asked. He cocked back his arm and threw the onac as far as he could into the pond.”

“Yep,” Gibbs agreed.

“Thought so. It’s funny how swearing sounds like swearing in any language.” Another onac came darting out of the water, and Tony jerked back, lost his footing, and ended up falling on his ass in the mud. He still managed to slap the onac away. He then charged to his feet when an onac swam up his loose pants.

“Oh no. You are not going up my dick, you overgrown piece of bait.” Tony shook his leg, and he felt the onac slide down his leg before it slipped away. That distracted Tony so much that the next onac would have gotten him only a second onac darted out of the water with his mouth open. The second, larger onac sliced the first one, who went screaming away. There was a small flurry in the water, and Tony really hoped that someone wasn’t getting eaten. Tony didn’t see the attack from the side until he felt a burning pain at the side of his neck. He reached up in time to touch the onac’s tail as it slipped into Tony, leaving a sluggishly bleeding wound behind.

Tony turned around, and the jaffa with his cloak bowed deeply. “My lord,” he offered, holding the cloak out.

“Oh. Yeah.” Tony plodded up the gentle slope to dry ground. His pants were covered in mud and he’d lost one shoe, but he pulled the jeweled cloak around his shoulders as he went to Gibbs’ side. Tony blinked. No, that was Samas in control now. Samas reached up and rested his hand against Tony’s cheek, and Tony gasped.

He could feel a fierce protectiveness, a fondness for Tony and a hatred of anyone who tried to hurt Tony. There was possessiveness there and desire. Tony couldn’t believe how much desire. And under that desire, there was a deep fear that Gibbs and Samas weren’t good enough. They’d lost so much, and they both had this deep feeling that it was their fault. The guilt communicated through Samas’ touch sent Tony to his knees.

Tony reached out and caught Samas’ hand. Without even trying to get up, Tony leaned forward and rested his forehead against Samas’ hip. There was no need for guilt. Tony understood how much Gibbs had always given up for his team. Tony understood the depth of love there, even if Gibbs had never said the words. He knew.

He felt Samas’ fingers run through his hair.

“I hope you’re happy,” O’Neill said.

“Very,” Samas agreed. “Tony will be well.”

“Right, because he looks peachy from where I’m standing. So, if you’re finished showing off how you can sacrifice your own people, maybe we could go back to our cell. The ambiance is better up there.”

“Put them in the pond,” Samas said. The words were said so calmly that Tony didn’t understand them at first. Samas’ hand was too comforting, and the feeling of love and comfort coming through the touch too overwhelming. Only O’Neill’s vivid cursing broke Tony out of his fugue state.

Tony struggled to his feet. 

“Stop,” Ba’al said, his voice sharp and angry.

Kali stepped forward as all the jaffa seemed to freeze. The two who had O’Neill by the arms had him right at the edge of the pond, and a third jaffa paused in his task of dragged Daniel right behind him. The two jaffa holding Carter seemed to be waiting their turn, and a half dozen more had half-raised their staff weapons, although they clearly didn’t know whose orders to follow.

Kali spoke slowly and calmly, her chin raised. “The queens control the distribution of the symbiotes. Samas is within her rights to demand this.”

Ba’al gave a tight smile. “That was many centuries ago, and a few things have changed.” Ba’al turned to the jaffa holding O’Neill’s team. “Return the prisoners to the ship.” Ba’al turned to Samas. “We need to talk about your assumptions of power.”

“Yes,” Samas said as he stepped forward. “We do.”

Tony flinched back a half second before Samas came out of Gibbs’ mouth. Ba’al jerked backward, but he couldn’t move fast enough. Samas hit the base of Ba’al’s neck and dove into the flesh, leaving a bleeding hole.

“Gibbs?” Tony stepped to his boss’s side.

“He needs to know the difference between an igigi and a goa’uld,” Gibbs said. He turned and looked at O’Neill. “The igigi share a body, Jack. Samas never was my jailor. However, he has to save his people and he’ll do what it takes to get that done.”

“O’Neill’s eyebrows went up, but he watched without comment. Ba’al seemed frozen, his body locked in place even as his eyes started to roll back in his head. Tony was starting to get concerned when Samas’ sharp nose poked out from the wound in Ba’al’s neck. Samas leaped toward Gibbs, and Gibbs reached out to catch him just as Ba’al fell straight back. Dead. Kali walked over and looked down at him.

“Our deal?” she asked.

“You and Lord Yu can begin to use the ancestral breeding grounds,” Gibbs offered. Tony, however, kept an eye on Samas. Sure enough, he started to jerk, his mouth coming open to show rows of sharp teeth. Tony took a quick step back to avoid any potential splatter. 

Samas gave one strangled squeal and then he threw up chunks of white, wormy gunk all over the ground.

“Okay, that’s just gross,” O’Neill complained. “Gunny, would you like to explain?”

Gibbs looked over. “Samas doesn’t approve of goa’uld, Jack. He never did. Onac share adventures with hosts, but they fight their own battles.”

“Okay.” Jack drew out the word, clearly unsure about the whole situation. 

“There are a few cave paintings that make a lot more sense now,” Daniel said softly. “And I really wish they didn’t.” Carter just made a truly disgusted face.

Samas screamed. He spread out his fins and opened his mouth wide as the sound got louder. Gibbs reached out to Tony, and Tony took his hand without hesitation. One loop of Samas’ tail wrapped around Tony’s wrist, and Tony could feel it all. He could feel the triumph at defeating an enemy, the disquiet at having made a deal with Kali, the unease at what he had to do now to save his people. 

Tony also felt the concern for the hundreds of small lives Samas had deposited into the lake. Samas didn’t dare stay to protect them, so they would have to grow up fast and they would need protectors who would prevent the other onac from eating them. Too few onac carried memories. The unas denied them the right of joining, so the lakes that had once been full of onac song as the creatures boasted about their adventures were now all eerily silent. With no stories and no hosts or adventures, the onac would never recover their culture.

“Gibbs,” Tony said. He didn’t say anything else, but he shook his head. This was not a good idea.

“Not up for debate, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said quietly.

“Does someone want to cut us free?” O’Neill asked. “You know, assuming that we’re all on the same side here.” 

Samas dove back into Gibbs’ mouth.

“Anyone?” O’Neill asked. He sounded suspicious, and he should be. 

Gibbs turned to the jaffa keeping them prisoner. “Put them in the water,” he ordered.

“You son of a bitch. Gibbs, I’ll fucking kill you!” O’Neill bellowed, but nothing could stop the jaffa from dragging the three members of O’Neill’s team into the pond full of waiting onac.


	19. Chapter 19

“You’re dead,” O’Neill said as he sat on the bank of the pond. He looked a little ragged, but it was Daniel who had slipped and gone into the water completely. He looked like a drowned rat. Carter had handed over a small cloth so he could try to clean off his glasses.

“Wait for us at the rings,” Samas told Kali. She looked at the three newly infected hosts sitting beside the pond.

“Is this wise?”

“You allowed Ra and the other goa’uld to destroy our entire culture. Was that wise?” Samas asked. For long minutes, they stared at each other.

Kali finally closed her eyes and bowed her head for a moment. “Jaffa, kree!” she called out, and then she was striding up the hill with their guard following behind. Weirdly, Tony was a little ambivalent about that. The jaffa liked him more than O’Neill and company did. Actually, right now O’Neill was watching with a calculated fury, and Tony figured that someone was going to end up dead pretty damn fast.

“I’m sure Samas had a good reason,” Tony said. After all, he had an onac in him too. It wasn’t like Gibbs and Samas had singled O’Neill and his people out.

“We have to take the ship,” Gibbs said. He walked over to Ba’al’s dead body and started pulling off the hand jewelry-weapon thing.

“It looks like you already staged your coup,” O’Neill said.

Gibbs shook his head. “Kali has a few jaffa loyal to her, but that’s it. The ship is still full of Ba’al’s troops, and we need to get up there, lock the jaffa down in the lower decks and take control of the bridge. There are sixteen lower-level goa’uld on board, and there may be another Ba’al.”

“Excuse me?” O’Neill stood up and faced off against Gibbs. “Maybe you’ve have too many brain cells eaten by that snake of yours, but you ate Ba’al and then vomited up chunks of him.” O’Neill glanced over at the mess on the ground.

Samas moved forward. “It was a clone.”

“What?” Carter came to O’Neill’s side and looked down. “Are you sure?”

“Very.” Samas held out the weapon to Carter. “I have no naquadah in me, so I cannot use the goa’uld weapons.” She took it, her gaze going to O’Neill, and Tony really did not like this. O’Neill was going to order her to use it against them. Tony knew it. He stepped forward to cover Samas.

“DiNozzo, don’t you dare act like we’re the bad guys here,” O’Neill snapped. “That bastard put snakes in us. Snakes. I don’t really see a good reason for us to cooperate. I mean, maybe I could overlook the whole hiding on earth thing, but holding us captive so you could put snakes in our heads puts you on the ‘exterminate with prejudice’ list,” O’Neill said.

“They are not snakes,” Samas said, “and despite the persistence of your ignorance, they will not take over your bodies.”

“Did you just call me stupid?” O’Neill narrowed his eyes. “Oh, this day just keeps getting better.”

“Jack, hear him out,” Daniel suggested, but the tone was more like a warning.

“He put a snake in your head, Daniel,” O’Neill shouted. He was also talking to Daniel as if Daniel were about five years old—enunciating each word slowly. Now Daniel was starting to look pissed.

“Sir, assuming the worst, we know it takes a goa’uld some time to establish itself in the host,” Carter said. “We have time to get to the Stargate and dial the alpha site. They can get us into confinement.”

“And then what?” O’Neill demanded.

Carter gave a helpless shrug before suggesting, “Maybe the tok’ra can help.”

“Another race that has given up its own heritage to take over the lives of hosts,” Samas said with disgust.

Carter whirled around and pinned Samas with a nasty glare. “They do not take over hosts.”

“They cannot exist without hosts,” Samas fired right back, and Carter didn’t seem to have an answer for that. “These onac will help us, but they will not stay in you beyond this mission. I give you my word.”

“Yeah, right,” O’Neill said dismissively.

Daniel gave him a weary look before he turned to Samas. “Why would they leave us?”

“Because if they have stories to sing, they can get a queen’s attention. They can convince a queen to use their DNA for the next generation, and if they’re really lucky, the queen might use some part of their memories. The onac were always warriors. They joined with unas to perform great acts of heroism and then they came back to the waters.”

“But it’s been centuries since that system has existed,” Daniel said. “I know the unas. Their adulthood ceremonies require an unas to take on some adventure, yes, but they have no stories of onac joining. For them, the relationship is purely adversarial.”

Samas sighed and looked over the pond. “I do not know what happened. I can guess that Ra did something to remove those onac who understood our ways. Perhaps he feared another challenger. However, Kali and Yu are willing to revive the practice if we can manage to take the ship for Kali, and as a bonus, it would allow you to retrieve your missing teammate.” Samas turned and looked at O’Neill. For a second Samas lifted his hand as if to reach out for O’Neill, but then he dropped it back down to his side.

“I am going to drop your ass in a cell so deep in the earth you’ll never see sunlight again,” O’Neill said, his voice deathly calm.

“I truly hope not. But if it comes to that, I can separate from Gibbs.”

“Oh, I’m not going to forget that Gibbs went along with this plan. You weren’t even in him, and he did nothing to try and protect the humans, not even his own second.”

“His second isn’t complaining,” Tony added, “well, except about the makeover. Ba’al’s makeover was not fun.” Tony had been washed and waxed in places he did not want to think about, places that were going to itch and chafe terrible. And he would wipe the makeup off his eyes, only he was afraid he’d end up smearing it and looking like a raccoon.

Samas slipped away, and Gibbs’ tense lines dominated the body. When he spoke, all the alien reverberation had vanished and he sounded tired. “This is Samas’ world, colonel. What wouldn’t you do to save earth?”

“I’ll tell you one thing—I’d happily blow up this whole planet with every last symbiote on it.”

Gibbs’ jaw tightened. “Luckily Samas is more ethical than that. He’s only trying to save his people, not destroy anyone else.”

Daniel rushed in before O’Neill could speak. “How does this save his people? Help us understand this.”

Gibbs looked at him. “The onac need to remember what it is like to be honorable, to take on a mission and then go home to the waters and feel proud of their accomplishments. They need to sing until the other onac remember that they are not animals. They are more than predators of fish. We were the memory for the unas. Together, we evolved into a culture based on strength.”

O’Neill snorted. “And then you took over the universe and enslaved humanity. Good job with that one.”

Gibbs was so ready to blow. Tony moved to his side and rested a hand on Gibbs’ arm. “Boss, they have some right to be cranky. Don’t go badass on them. Now, correct me if I’m getting this wrong, but the general plan is that we all go take the ship, free Murray, and then come back here so all the onac can go home and brag about blowing up the goa’uld, right?” Tony didn’t wait for Gibbs to answer; he turned to O’Neill, “which actually sounds like a great plan for anyone who hates the goa’uld enough to want to blow them up.”

“We shouldn’t kill Kali,” Gibbs said. “She knew this was all wrong, but at least she’s willing to try and fix it before it’s too late. She and Yu will try to find humans who want to come here to join with an onac to improve their odds on a mission. If the tok’ra can find hosts for their abominations, at least some humans have to be willing to help the onac rebuild.”

O’Neill stepped closer “What? You’re going to look for volunteers now? That’s very altruistic of you considering you just had jaffa throw us in the water with our hands tied.”

Tony expected Gibbs to go all flinty eyed and angry, but instead Tony could feel a satisfaction rolling off of him. When Tony slipped his hand down so that his fingers brushed across the bare skin of Gibbs’ arm, he could feel the pride, the certainty that the onac in O’Neill would learn of honor, the certainly that the onac in O’Neill would protect Samas’ children.

Gibbs looked over, his slowly smile clearly leaving O’Neill a little uncomfortable. “I won’t apologize. My people have been imprisoned in that pond for generations, and I’m going to destroy every last bastard that did it, and if I have to use you to make that plan happen, I’m fine with that. Now you can help me take that ship and then I’ll help you return those onac to the waters, or you can find the Stargate and figure out the rest on your own.

Gibbs turned his back and started up the hill, but Tony kept his eyes on the earth team. O’Neill in particular looked like he would be just fine shooting Gibbs in the back. Luckily, O’Neill didn’t have a weapon. Gibbs got halfway up the hill before he turned around. “Oh, and onac have as much self-preservation as any other species. If you try to go to the tok’ra to have the onac pulled out, it might take you over in self-defense.”

That said, Gibbs continued up the hill, and backing away from O’Neill. Carter and Daniel were both watching O’Neill, and Daniel offered a quiet, “Jack?”

O’Neill threw his hands up in the air. “Fine. We’re already compromised, so we might as well do something insanely stupid. And when this is over, you are paying for this, Gunny.”

O’Neill headed up the hill with long strides that left Tony scrambling to chase after him. After all, the robes Ba’al had chosen for him weren’t exactly ideal for field work.


	20. Chapter 20

Tony fired the staff weapon around the corner, not bothering to do much aiming. The damn thing was either painfully inaccurate or Tony just sucked.

“I’m almost there,” Carter said as she did something to the wiring inside the wall.

“Speed is a priority, Major,” O’Neill suggested. It was worse than having Timmy nagging when Tony was trying to pick a lock. However Carter clearly had more patience because she ignored O’Neill’s complaints.

A new round of staff weapon blasts scorched the walls of the corridor, and Tony pressed himself behind the structural beam that gave him some protection. Even that was starting to feel uncomfortably warm as the heat of the staff weapon blasts started to penetrate.

“Carter!”

“Working, sir.”

O’Neill pressed Daniel against the wall as the new blasts came dangerously close to his position. Tony pointed his staff weapon around the corner and sent several blasts in return. He really hoped some lucky jaffa didn’t blow his hands off. He liked his hands.

“Got it!” Carter said, and then Tony could hear doors sliding closed with heavy thunks. Tony waited to see if any jaffa were on their side of the locked door, but it seemed fairly quiet.

“Is everyone okay?” O’Neill asked.

Tony looked down to his arm. The fabric had been singed and charred, but the skin underneath was new-healed pink. “I think this should hurt more. Or possibly it should just hurt,” Tony commented. 

O’Neill walked over and caught Tony’s arm in a firm grasp. “Huh. Samas, Jr is good for something.”

“The symbiote in Tony can’t be biologically related to Samas,” Daniel pointed out.

“Uh huh,” O’Neill said absent-mindedly. “Carter, do you have a clear path down to the cells?”

Carter knelt in front of an open panel, an open zat at her side. “I’m working on it, sir.”

O’Neill gave a jerk of his head, and Daniel moved to cover the passage they’d come from. The jaffa back there should all belong to Kali, but that didn’t mean O’Neill trusted them, or that Tony did either. Jaffa were weirdly serious in their belief that the goa’uld were gods. Hell, Kali’s jaffa only agreed to the move because they believed that as another god, she had a right to challenge Ba’al. Apparently some of them had switched over because of Samas and the fact he was an actual queen rather than a regular symbiote in a female body like Kali. Luckily, O’Neill’s group hadn’t caught onto that fact yet.

“I should go help Gibbs.” Tony started back the way they’d come.

O’Neill reached out and caught his arm. “The gunny is a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

“He doesn’t have anyone on his six.”

“He’s the one who says to trust Kali, so let her cover his six.”

“Would you let her cover your six?” Tony demanded.

“I wouldn’t trust any of us to cover anyone’s six. We all have snakes in our heads,” O’Neill snapped. “Now focus on your damn mission, DiNozzo. The gunny can handle the goa’uld. We secure the jaffa and retrieve Teal’c. Clear, soldier?” This was O’Neill’s colonel voice. Tony had worked with the military long enough to recognize that sharp tone that meant that a commanding officer was about to bust someone down about three ranks. The problem was that Tony wasn’t military. He narrowed his eyes and really had to rein in his temper.

“I’m here because Gibbs told me to help you navigate. Gibbs. I don’t take your orders.”

O’Neill gave him an overly cheerful smile. “Yeah, well Gibbs ordered you to take my orders. Now, I’m ordering you to help us navigate down to the cells.”

Tony crossed his arms. “The service passages are straight down this hall, two bulkheads toward the aft,” Tony said, gesturing toward the locked door where jaffa still battered against the metal.

“Well, crap.” O’Neill rubbed a hand over his face. “Carter, can you find us another way down?”

"I can try," she agreed, but there was a grimness in her answer that made it pretty damn clear that this wouldn't be an easy thing. O'Neill nodded.

"Danny?"

"We're still clear this direction," Daniel answered.

Tony frowned as he thought about all the unreasonable demands Ba'al had made over the time Tony had been on the ship. It didn't matter what was going on, he expected his slaves to always be near and always be ready, even when they worked sixteen hours straight. Tony was never again going to accuse Gibbs of being an unreasonable taskmaster. Well, not that he had in the first place, but he'd thought it once or twice or a dozen times.

"Stelli!" Tony yelled out, his voice echoing down the halls. The jaffa behind the bulkhead paused in their efforts to batter down the door using brute force.

"DiNozzo, have you finally snapped?" O'Neill asked with more curiosity than anger.

"Maybe," Tony said. "Stelli!" he yelled again. Now Carter and Daniel were both giving him odd looks. They could question his sanity all they wanted, Tony was almost sure that one of the slaves would be listening. And while the other hem would keep their heads down and avoid getting involved, Stelli's life as a low-ranking slave just might suck enough for him to get involved.

O'Neill came over and leaned against the wall near Tony. "I've seen men snap under battle conditions, but I have to say that you have a unique way of handling it. Would you like to tell me what a 'stelli' might be."

"He might be someone who can help," Tony said. "However, I don't know if he can get through the locked doors. If he can, he'll be here."

O'Neill looked over and traded meaningful looks with Daniel. Tony had his own secret "look" code with Gibbs, so he could pretty much interpret what they had going on, so he wasn't surprised when Daniel took over the conversation. O'Neill moved over to cover Daniel's position guarding their rear.

"Is Stelli one of the hem?" Daniel asked in a calm voice he probably used to the soothe the natives and PTSD mad soldiers.

"The hem are going to keep their heads down and try and survive. Stelli is a sedjemash, which is the main reason why he might take a chance on us."

"Sedjemash?" O'Neill asked even as he watched his section of corridor.

"Low-ranked slave," Daniel answered.

"And their lives kind of suck, so offering him a chance to work a ten hour day in a base kitchen feeding soldiers would be a huge step up for him."

"You want to take him back to Earth?" O'Neill sounded scandalized.

Tony was supposed to be guarding the bulkheads Carter had lowered, but he turned his back on the task. Daniel was right there, he could guard the sealed hallway. "I'm not asking him to stand up against his gods and then abandoning him here to deal with the consequences on his own. So, yes, I plan to take him back to Earth."

"No." O'Neill didn't even pretend to make a joke out of it.

"Jack, we have taken others in."

"Others who have proved they are determined to fight the goa'uld,” O’Neill snapped. “We don’t run around offering it to every Tom, Dick and sedjemash.”

"Well if Stelli shows up and helps us, he'll have proved that too," Tony said. "He's a good man."

"Right, because he helped Samas." O'Neill rolled his eyes, and Tony was really on the verge of punching O’Neill. Okay, so getting an onac shoved in your head was a little rough. Tony could feel a little sympathy because he was weirded out himself; however, O’Neill was surpassing acceptable levels of bitchiness.

"No, because he helped me. He didn't have to, and given that Ba'al and Samas have pretty much hated each other from day one, it would have been a lot safer for him to steer clear, but he has helped me from the first."

Carter spoke up. "Colonel, I'm having trouble getting tactical data, including internal maps or sensors. Whatever is going on up on the bridge, it's slowing the computers down. A lot. They almost react like the main control panels have sustained damaged and the data is getting rerouted. If Di'Nozzo's friend can offer some help, we might need it."

O'Neill glared at her, but then he gave an elaborate sigh. "Yes, fine. Assuming Di'Nozzo's slave buddy shows up, we'll ask for help in return for a trip to Earth. You do know this is going to be one of the worst debriefs in all SGC history, correct? I mean, the three of us are going to be in full restraints as we give it."

"Yes, sir," Carter agreed.

"I'm holding out hope that the symbiotes are going to come out on their own," Daniel said.

"And little boys are made out of puppy dog tails," O'Neill said wearily. 

Tony frowned. "There's no way that Gibbs and Samas will let you guys get stuck with symbiotes you don't want," Tony said carefully. O'Neill gave him a blank expression, but Daniel's mouth twisted unhappily before he ducked his head and Carter seemed to focus all her attention on the computer panel she was busily disassembling. Tony had no idea what to say in the face of that sort of pessimism.

He was saved from having to come up with any sort of response. O'Neill brought his stolen zat up and stepped into a shallow niche that offered some cover. "Halt!"

"I... yes, of course," a familiar voice answered.

"Stelli!" Tony hurried past O'Neill. The man made a horrible noise when Tony crossed his line of fire, but Tony didn't care. Stelli was there with that same calm expression he always wore.

The second Stelli saw him, he bowed his head. "My Lord. Did you ask for me?"

Tony caught the man by the shoulders and gave him a hug. Stelli looked absolutely dumbstruck. "You have the best timing ever. Now, we need to get into the area we visited earlier, the section with the cells where they were keeping O'Neill before we picked up symbiotes."

Stelli blinked at him. "I... All of you?" Stelli looked around for a second, and then he ducked his head in a less obvious bow. "Of course. If we cannot use the main corridor..." Stelli looked past them and toward the locked bulkheads.

"Oh, we definitely aren't going that way," O'Neill said.

Stelli nodded. "Then if my lords are not offended by the inadequacy of the facilities, we may use the servants' passages."

"Oh trust me, I'm far harder to offend than that," O'Neill said with a sort of manic grin. Tony wasn’t sure he agreed with that assessment, but for now, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and two seconds of O’Neill not bitching about Gibbs was a gift.

They were two decks down and scurrying on a narrow ladder in a corridor that barely had enough room for one person to walk without both shoulders touching the sides when O’Neill spoke again. “So, how’d you know to look for these passages or yell for that Telli guy?” O’Neill actually sounded curious rather than confrontational, so Tony kept his own bitchiness to a minimum.

“I grew up in big houses. The servants always knew how to get around the place, and if I wanted to avoid my father, I learned to. I knew one of the servants would be keeping an ear out for us, and if I called for something specific, they’d get it if they could, well, as long as it didn’t require them to stick their necks out.”

O’Neill grunted and stuck his zat in his waist so he could brace his hands on the walls as he kept moving down the stairs. From the look of it, his knees did not like this particular activity, but he was still moving pretty damn fast. “You were avoiding your father, huh?”

“Do not start playing psychologist,” Tony said firmly. He’d already had Kate making uncharitable comments about his daddy issues and his loyalty to Gibbs. She hadn’t even met his father, and she made all sorts of assumptions. It was annoying—and he missed the hell out of having her annoy him. Sometimes he ached so much it felt like a missing limb. However, if he wouldn’t put up with psychobabble from Kate, he sure as hell wasn’t taking it from Gibbs. “My father never did anything wrong. We just had incompatible personalities.”

O’Neill looked over his shoulder and gave a disbelieving snort.

“This way, my lords,” Stelli said. He pushed open a panel and slipped out into a regular corridor.

Carter paused near the exit. “Sir, are you doing okay?” she asked when O’Neill passed.

“My knees don’t like me, but I’m holding up better than I thought I would.” With that, O’Neill kept right on going, and Carter took up a position on their six as soon as Tony passed. 

At the next juncture, Stelli stopped. “The cells are in the next section, but a guard is posted whenever there is a prisoner.” He looked at them, and from the expression, he was really hoping he wouldn’t get ordered out into the middle of the firefight. The worst part was, he would probably go.

“No problem,” O’Neill grabbed Tony’s arm and yanked him forward. “Go play nice with the guard and then shoot him.”

“Excuse me?” Tony demanded. He was fine with shooting someone who was trying to shoot him, but he was not going to set out with the goal of killing someone. That was a line he was not crossing.

Daniel was there and he put a hand on the staff weapon Tony had liberated from a jaffa. “Hand me that. You take the zat. Remember, one shot disables. It takes two to kill,” Daniel said.

“Okay, that’s a little better.” Tony took the zat while O’Neill rolled his eyes.

“Fine. Go stun the evil alien slavers,” O’Neill sniped.

“They are slavers and they’re not evil,” Tony hissed as he passed the man. O’Neill really was annoyingly dogged in his hatred of all things not human. “Right or left?” Tony asked Stelli.

“Left, my lord.” Stelli wrung his hands as if undecided as to what he should do.

Tony patted him on the arm. “Wait here,” he said, and then he put on his best cocky grin and started strolling down the hallway, the zat hidden at his side. Either he’d get close enough to get a nice clean shot or the jaffa would shoot him dead. Weirdly, Tony felt a little zing of excitement at the choice. Normally facing death was not this exhilarating. However, if it kept him from freezing up in terror in the middle of a mission, Tony could handle a little lack of terror. He’d just invest in some therapy later.


	21. Chapter 21

Tony stood at the side as Carter tried to get the cell door open. O'Neill was leaning against the bars bemoaning their lack of C4. Eventually he seemed to get bored with listening to himself bitch. “So,” he said in a lazy drawl. “How’s it hanging with you, Teal’c?” Up until now, O’Neill had walked the room peering at every shadow. Now he finally focused on his teammate, who clearly wasn’t named Murray.

“All things hang as they usually do.”

O’Neill grinned. “Well that’s better than the alternative. Carter?”

Carter currently had her hands in the guts of alien circuitry. “I’m working on the locking mechanism now.”

“Yeah, I see that. I was hoping for more results,” O’Neill said.

Carter spared him a dirty look. “This is not easy, sir.”

“Now that’s your problem. You always make it look easy, so now you’ve raised my expectations.”

“I’ll make sure to disappoint you more in the future,” Carter said dryly without even looking up from her work.

Daniel laughed, and O’Neill gave him a dirty look. “So, Teal’c, here’s the thing. Thanks to Di’Nozzo’s friend, we’re all compromised.”

Teal’c raised an eyebrow.

“We got matching snakes. It’s like getting a team tattoo, only less tacky. So, if any of us start trying to take over the universe, feel free to shoot us in the ass with a zat.”

Tony got the feeling that O’Neill had finally managed to shock Teal’c. Personally, Tony would have been shocked at their little ragtag rescue, but Teal’c had been all stoic man up until this point. Now he blinked at O’Neill as if waiting for the punch line. Eventually he bowed his head and gave a simple, “I shall. How did this happen?”

O’Neill grimaced before saying, “Samas had the jaffa drop us in a pond full of goa'uld.”

“Onac,” Tony corrected him.

“Right. One burrows into the brain of an unwilling host, and the other... Oh. Right.” O'Neill gave Tony a dirty look.

Tony's temper finally snapped. “You can stop acting like an utter bastard. Gibbs and Samas are trying to save their people, and in case it’s escaped your notice, he’s a good guy.”

Immediately, O’Neill was in his face. “Right. And we’ve never heard that one before. Do you have any idea how many of these assholes have pretended to be on our side? They claim to be our allies and then test dangerous equipment on us. And we get ordered to still play nice. They tell us that they hated Ra and are on our side. Only their definition of ‘our side’ seems to include ripping out pieces of my internal organs and collecting DNA from Danny the old fashioned way.” O’Neill was right there in Tony’s space, crowding him back into the wall.

Tony glanced over, and Daniel was bright red, his gaze going everywhere except Tony. The arms around his stomach and the way he withdrew were familiar enough. Tony knew victims. 

“Pieces of internal organs?” Tony asked softly, avoiding the more explosive topic of Daniel and stolen DNA. 

O’Neill snorted and turned his back. A few brisk and stiff steps took him to the other side of the corridor where he watched for guard, and from the looks, he would have welcomed a chance to shoot someone.

Surprisingly, it was Daniel who spoke up. He might be showing the signs of a victim, but he was one of those victims that had a spine of steel who would stand up and point right at the perpetrator. Tony had seen that enough to recognize the type, and he’d seen enough victims who couldn’t do that to be impressed by Daniel’s strength. 

“Hathor was the worst of them. She was one of the queens, and she used a goa’uld device to remove some of Jack’s internal organs to turn him into a jaffa. It would have worked except we had access to a sarcophagus, one that we blew up shortly after that.”

Tony frowned. “Wait.” He looked over at Teal’c. “You used to be human?” That was disturbing on a level that Tony rarely got disturbed anymore. Hell, he was in Baltimore when they had that kinky group who did self-serve castrations on each other and landed one guy in the emergency room. After that, Tony would have claimed he’d seen it all in terms of body modification, but this was a new level of disturbing.

“I was not,” Teal’c said calmly. “For many generations my family have been jaffa, although I believe my ancestors were once from Earth.”

That somehow made it worse. Not only did the goa’uld screw with people’s bodies, but they made it genetic so that the kids were screwed by default. Tony really didn’t like these guys.

Daniel had his head ducked in a half bow, and he studied the back of his own hand where he gripped his zat. “She used my DNA to try and spawn new goa’uld.”

“What?” Tony’s voice came out as a disbelieving sort of squawk, which was not the tone he was going for with a potential rape victim.

Daniel’s head popped up, and Tony could almost feel the aggression rolling in from O’Neill’s side.

“I mean, they’re a different species. Why would a queen want human DNA? That’s… disturbing and wrong.”

O’Neill snorted.

Daniel shrugged. “If the symbiotes have some human DNA in them, it makes them more compatible with human hosts.”

“And that probably explains why they can’t live as free-swimming predators,” Tony said softly. “God, no wonder Samas thinks the goa’uld are sick bastards.”

O’Neill narrowed his eyes. “Do not start in on how all onac are warm and fuzzy.” From the tone O’Neill was using, he was seriously considering shooting Tony.

“Samas is as warm and fuzzy as a porcupine. That was actually the second time I watched him eat one of his own people and then vomit up the remains,” Tony pointed out. “He’s a predator, and if he thinks an onac is weak, he’s not going to feel guilty about killing in cold blood. Well, assuming they have blood.”

O’Neill leaned back against the corridor and seemed to turn his attention back to guarding the far end of the hall, but now that Tony understood the dynamics better, he could see how O’Neill kept part of his attention on Daniel the whole time. 

Tony ran his fingers through his hair. This was a little more complicated than he’d understood. “I just think that Samas wants his people to be predators. That won’t work if they stay in hosts. I don’t think he’s going to keep his word because he’s warm and fuzzy. I think he’ll keep his word because he has a sense of honor and because it gets him what he wants.”

“Selfishness is a motive I can get behind when it comes to the goa’uld,” O’Neill said, and this time Tony didn’t bother correcting him.

“I wonder if the genetic manipulation was because of Ra or if the queens were doing it to try and get back at him, maybe by making their jaffa stronger than his.” Tony couldn’t quite figure that one out. 

“What?” Daniel pushed up his glasses. “What are you talking about?”

“The queens.” Tony could see the blank expression on Daniel’s face. “The queens always had the power, so Ra tried to clip their wings and there was some sort of war. And clearly this is news to you.”

Daniel made a strange face. “Sort of. We know there were a lot of queens that got put in stasis in some way.”

“And others were killed. Apparently Yu was associated with one of the queens who really hated the idea of moving into hosts full time. He and Ra didn’t get along well after that.”

“And you found out all this in the few days you were here?” O’Neill asked. He didn’t bother hiding his skepticism, but that was fine. Tony cultivated an air of incompetence, so he didn’t mind it when people believed his shtick. 

Tony grinned. “It helps to make friends in low places.” Personally Tony was still a little hacked off that O’Neill had dismissed Stelli, sending him back to the slave quarters. True, he was probably safer there, but he was Tony’s buddy, not O’Neill’s.

“Where does Samas fit into the war between the queens and Ra?” Daniel asked.

Tony grinned and did a bit of quick mental editing. “Ra brought the igigi in to try and fix some genetic line or replenish his forces… I don’t actually know what. But I know Samas lost his queen when she refused to cooperate with Ra. Apparently she hadn’t realized what he was doing with her children until later.”

Daniel was nodding. “That makes sense. Igigi were lesser gods, slaves to the higher gods. Shamash was never identified with that mythology, but he was known as the god of justice who inspired Hammurabi and was the mentor to Gilgamesh, the champion of mankind. He stepped in to protect people several times in history.”

“Right. So he’s the good guy,” O’Neill said, and now he was glaring at Daniel.

However, unlike Tony who always tried to return a stupid grin for every hateful look he got, Daniel gave O’Neill an equally unhappy glare. “I am not an idiot, and the Code of Hammurabi was one of the most brutal codes of justice in all of human history. If Shamash had anything to do with it, I would call him a cold hearted bastard who cares about justice, even if his concern for actual people is a little lacking. His queen would have been Nanna, who was the daughter of Ninlil, but we haven’t run into any mention of those queens.”

Tony blinked. Okay, Tony was used to people subconsciously weaving in the details around the lies and obfuscations he sometimes used. Tony would mention some random woman, and let Tim’s imagination go from there, even when Tony was talking about the waitress at the local sandwich shop. However, Daniel seemed to be taking that to an oddly specific extreme. “Nanna? Ninlin?”

Daniel was humming. “Has Shamash mentioned either of those names?”

Tony didn’t intend on giving Daniel any specific details he could check on. The man was too smart. Luckily, given a couple of details, he also seemed pretty willing to make up the rest of the story on his own. Tony answered sadly, “Mentioning queens around Samas, especially mentioning his queen, is a sure way to get locked out of the room or just have Samas separate from Gibbs and go swimming. Not much talking gets done when he’s in that form.”

“I have never heard of a goa’uld who casually separated from the host,” Teal’c said. The man was usually so silent that his voice startled Tony. He was equally shocked that Teal’c almost seemed to be coming down on the side of giving Samas the benefit of the doubt and not lumping him in with all goa’uld.

“Oh thank God. I have it,” Carter said. She had no more than finished when the cell door popped open.

“There you go, Major. See, miracles on demand,” O’Neill said happily. “Okay kids, it’s time to blow this popsicle stand.”

“What? No!” Tony stepped right into O’Neill’s personal space. “We said we could go back up Gibbs as soon as we had Teal’c.”

“And, but, or…” O’Neill let his voice trail off, that same manic glee coloring his tone. He man was definitely a couple of reels short of a full movie.

“ _And_ I’m going to the bridge. _But_ Gibbs would never leave us. _Or_ you can leave, and then you’ll be stuck with onac in your heads.”

O’Neill gave a dramatic sigh. “Fine. We’ll go find the gunny. Happy?”

“Deliriously,” Tony answered. O’Neill didn’t fool him, though. If the colonel hadn’t been planning on going up to the bridge, he wouldn’t have been so quick to agree. He’d never planned on leaving Gibbs behind, but he had planned on threatening to leave, just to annoy Tony. The man was an asshole. Unfortunately, Tony was starting to think he was an asshole who might be right about one or two things.


	22. Chapter 22

Tony leaned against a fancy looking console and tried to catch his breath. At least he did until Carter shoved him. “Don’t touch that,” she snapped. Then again, she had taken a bad hit to the head when one of Ba’al’s underlords had tossed her into the wall, so Tony figured she had a right to be cranky.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he shuffled to the side where he couldn’t touch anything.

“The drive controls are there, and so are weapons,” Carter said wearily. It almost sounded like an apology.

“Yeah, DiNozzo, don’t blow up the planet by accident,” O’Neill called from the other side of the room.

Daniel was bandaging O’Neill’s arm with supplies from SG1’s newly rediscovered packs. He exchanged a few hushed words with O’Neill, but the colonel just rolled his eyes. The only one of them that seemed to have come through unscathed was Teal’c. Even Kali looked a little worse for wear, although she had a manic grin on her face that rivaled O’Neill’s.

“We have won,” she announced. O’Neill narrowed his eyes and shifted the P90 he had in his lap, but he didn’t comment.

Gibbs gave quick nod. “We have. Now those of us from Earth are returning to the planet. We’re taking a tel’tak.”

The smile vanished off Kali’s face, and Tony watched the whole room shift. Daniel moved to the side of O’Neill and inched closer to a column. Teal’c’s hand rested against his staff weapon, and Carter moved to use the console as cover. Unfortunately, Tony didn’t have a weapon and he wasn’t sure which side to take cover with, so he stood right in the middle of the potential firefight. 

“You should stay with us, Samas,” she said, her voice carefully controlled.

Tony could have pointed out that Samas wasn’t driving the body, but Kali, like all of SG1, seemed to think that the reverberation in the voice was a reliable gauge of who might be in charge. It wasn’t.

“I will not,” Gibbs said, imitating the slightly more formal tones of Samas. It was the first time Tony had heard Gibbs do that, either that or Gibbs was keeping control of the body and Samas was running the voice. Either way, Tony shifted closer to his boss. 

“You would be welcomed back,” Kali said.

“Welcomed back by two creatures who did not defend their queens. Ra and other others were mad with power. What excuse do you have for allowing the near extermination of our species?” Gibbs had his best glare going—the one that sometimes made suspected pee themselves just a little.

Kali lifted her chin. “We survived.”

“And you left generations of children to die in ignorance. I will not forget that, so it’s best that we don’t see each other again,” Gibbs said. He took a step toward her and grabbed her bare arm. Kali stared at him with wide eyes, and Tony held his breath. They were saying something to each other in that touch. Eventually Gibbs pushed her away and took a step backwards. “We are taking a tel’tak.” He turned his back on Kali and started to leave the bridge.

“Samas,” Kali called out. Gibbs stopped, but he didn’t turn around. He waited with his back turned. She looked around the room, clearly not happy saying this in front of an audience. “Samas, we will not make that mistake again. We will defend the waters, and we will make sure that the rites of hosting are observed.”

Gibbs turned, but instead of looking at Kali, he looked at Tony. “Who are the most honorable and brave individuals on his ship?” he asked.

Tony glanced over at Kali, but her face was devoid of any expression. Given that she had refused to help Samas, she wasn’t going on his list, though. 

“There is a slave named Stelli. He was willing to risk his life to come to our aid. There was a young jaffa with dark hair and a scar on his left cheek. He was always watchful, and I think he sees a lot more than he lets on.”

Gibbs gave a nod and then looked over at Kali. “If you’re going to see the rites are done well, that is where you start to prove it to me.” And with that, Gibbs was done. He strode out of the room. Tony hurried after, only half-hearing the snarky comments O’Neill seemed to fling at Kali as if throwing grenades to cover their retreat. O’Neill’s mouth seemed like it was much more capable of starting trouble than a grenade, though.

Daniel ran after them, and O’Neill called out his name along with “for cryin’ out loud.” O’Neill seemed to like that phrase.

“What are the rites?” Daniel asked.

Gibbs glanced back at Daniel and then his gaze moved farther back to O’Neill. For all his bitching, O’Neill seemed to be watching their six while Carter and Teal’c moved up.

“I too would like to know,” Teal’c said before passing them and taking point.

“Warriors had to prove themselves worthy before they were allowed near sacred waters. Now the onac seemed to swim everywhere, and they don’t seem to know the difference between someone getting water and someone trying to find a symbiote.”

Daniel cringed. “We actually lost a scientist that way. He was infected, and when he tried to kill us, we had to kill him.”

Gibbs stopped and turned. “Why would he try to kill you?”

“Maybe because we had him tied up and we were going to drag him back to earth and cut him out of his host’s brain to try and save the scientist,” O’Neill offered. He was definitely trying to prod Gibbs into some reaction.

“The onac don’t know any better now,” Gibbs said with a sigh. He started moving through the ship again. Slaves were starting to come out of hiding, and several bowed deeply as they passed.

“Okay, that’s kind of creepy,” O’Neill complained softly.

“Creepy is leaving Stelli behind,” Tony complained, and he didn’t bother being quiet about it.

“He wouldn’t understand Earth culture. We would make him miserable,” Gibbs said. “Besides, most of the slaves have families here, Tony.”

“Leaving him behind is not the way to make his life better, boss.”

“No, but you told Kali that he had the balls to get in the middle of the fight. That will mean something to her. She was always a warrior, and she’ll be looking for good men and women. Trust him to make the best out of the opportunity you gave him.” 

Teal’c stopped at one of the rings rooms. “We can transport to the deck with the tel’tak, but I cannot predict who might be waiting.”

O’Neill sighed. “Right. We walk. At least the knees aren’t bothering me too much today.”

“Sir, the symbiote is probably trying—”

“Carter,” O’Neill cut her off, “do not suggest that this worm in my head is doing anything good.”

“Yes, sir,” she said in a tone that somehow made it very clear that she was implying exactly that. Carter had a knack for saying things in military-precise words while at the same time seeming to mean the exact opposite. Tony liked her.

“So,” Daniel said, drawing the word out as Teal’c now led them toward access corridors that linked the ship decks. “Why all the politics around this planet? Why were they all trying to get at you?” 

Gibbs sighed, rubbed his face, and then dropped the pretense of speaking with Samas’ voice. “The others can’t leave their hosts. While in a body, communication through the skin is hard. The images are muted, and the onac can’t use his full language. So Kali and Yu and Ba’al can’t talk to the onac in the waters.”

“Samas can?” Daniel asked.

Gibbs nodded. “Before Samas brought everyone down to the planet, he went into the water alone and tried to figure out what had happened. Onac remember events from thousands of years ago, so one of the symbiote lines should have been able to share the information.”

O’Neill made a very unhappy noise. “Gunny, we are going to have to talk about some of the decisions you made, such as allowing that snake back in you. For your sake, I really hope you didn’t know the whole plan.”

Gibbs’ response was so predictable that Tony could have cried. “I knew,” he said. God forbid Gibbs cover his own ass. While the man might be willing to avoid talking about the things he’d done, he always refused to outright lie—even when he damn well should. O’Neill went from looking pissed to looking homicidal.

When Daniel physically stepped between the two men, Tony knew he wasn’t the only one to notice that shift.

Jumping into the breach, Daniel quickly asked, “Did any of the symbiotes know what happened?”

“None of them knew anything,” Gibbs said, his voice flat. “Samas thought he might find the genetic memories skewed. He was afraid he’d find a planet full of potential goa’uld who all remembered Ra’s stories of stolen power and how good it felt to control others. Instead he found they were all mute and ignorant.”

“Mute?” Daniel practically shoved Tony aside to get next to Gibbs. He even pulled out a small mini-recorder and turned it on before attaching it to his vest. Gibbs raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment.

“Onac communicate through chemicals on their skin. As they swim, these leave traces in the water so that as another onac swims through, they can hear whatever the first onac was thinking about. Most of the symbiotes who have taken human hosts call it singing. None of them were singing.”

“Wait. None?” Daniel sounded alarmed.

Gibbs gave him a flat look. “None. When Samas tracked the onac down, they all acted like simple predators or prey. There was no sentience there at all.”

“But… You’re not just talking about a cultural collapse, but a complete de-evolution affecting the entire species down to the individual level. This is… this is…” Daniel clearly didn’t have words for what this was because he waved his hands without finishing.

“Bad?” Tony guessed.

“Catastrophic.”

“So, really bad,” O’Neill said. “I’m still not feeling the sympathy.”

They had been walking and climbing down levels and walking more, but now Gibbs stopped and looked at O’Neill. “This is no different than if someone had blasted Earth back to the stone age because they’d taken offense to the Nazis. The goa’uld are evil. I don’t disagree with that, but all onac are not to blame for the actions of a corrupt memory line that will die when the last of the goa’uld die.”

“The last die?” O’Neill pounced on that. “Are you talking in metaphors, perhaps?”

“Yu is unable to fully regenerate. Kali is significantly weakened. Many of the other ancient goa’uld have died because their conditions made it impossible to defend against others. They don’t return to the water, and being in the human host creates health problems they could not predict.”

“And the younger generation?” O’Neill asked, his mind already clicking away on threat assessments. It was freaky the way the man could go from goofy to deadly serious in a heartbeat. 

“Ra had the queens weaken the younger symbiotes to make sure they never challenged him. That was the main contention between Ra and Samas’ queen,” Gibbs said. “Samas’ queen refused to do it, so Ra destroyed all her offspring. The queens who complied created generations of symbiotes who are inferior. They’re dying faster than the original generations.”

“Huh.” O’Neill didn’t look convinced, but he did look interested.

“We know Lord Yu is having trouble,” Daniel said. “It stands to reason that if Yu is aging, that means the goa’uld of his generation can’t regenerate anymore, yet we haven’t seen a new crop of younger, stronger goa’uld taking over. Ba’al is the youngest one we’ve seen take power, and he’s thousands of years old.”

“So, you think this could be true?” O’Neill clapped his hands together. “I’m all for throwing a ‘don’t let the door hit you on your ass on the way out’ party to celebrate their extinction.”

Daniel’s glare actually frightened Tony a little. With a sigh, Gibbs started down the corridor, and Teal’c, who had stopped, slipped back into point.

“Daniel, they’re bad guys,” O’Neill said.

“The goa’uld are. Gibbs is talking about an entire species facing extinction.”

“Good.”

“A species that is not evil.”

“Danny, Samas had you tied up and shoved you in a pond full of parasites. I think he falls on the evil side of the fence.”

Tony’s back stiffened and he wanted to turn around and argue, but it wasn’t his place. He hadn’t suffered the way these people had. He was actually a little surprised that Daniel was standing up for Samas considering he seemed to have suffered more than the others. Humans recovered from physical wounds faster than the psychological traumas. Tony had seen enough police work to know exactly how true that was, but Daniel was still in there defending Samas.

“What would you do to protect humanity?” Daniel demanded.

“I wouldn’t hurt innocent people.”

“And the Salish?” Daniel demanded.

“Oh for crying out loud. I wanted to help them resettle; I wasn’t trying to shove snakes in their heads.”

“You tried to take them off their planet, and look how well that worked out.”

O’Neill glared at Daniel.

“And how about Euronda?”

Whatever that was about, O’Neill practically bristled with aggression. “I didn’t take the deal, Daniel.”

“You were ready to cooperate with a mass murderer to get technology. I was the one who argued against it. And then there’s the people of Orban who weren’t really thrilled with you kidnapping one of the children scientists.”

“They brainwiped children, Danny. What was I supposed to do, let them keep destroying kids?”

Daniel’s voice got soft. “I think you did what you had to in order to save lives, Jack.”

They had reached the hanger doors, but O’Neill and Daniel had been so deep in their conversation that the rest of them had stood guard and waited while the two men went at it. 

Tony disliked having to wait for Daniel to make all the arguments, but it didn’t matter how logical Tony was, he didn’t have the history with O’Neill that would make the other man listen. Tony got it. After all, there were days that Tim had perfectly reasonable requests, but Gibbs didn’t act on them as quickly as he would have if the same request had come from Tony. Part of Tony preened in the evidence that Gibbs liked him better, but part of him cringed in sympathy every time Tim hit that wall. Eventually Gibbs would trust Tim, but it took time.

Well, unless your name was Ziva, and Tony was still trying to deal with that bit of jealousy.

O’Neill reached out and caught Daniel by the arm. “Let’s go home and worry about the rest later.”

“We have to stop at the water and get the onac out of you first,” Gibbs said. 

O’Neill snorted. “Just that easy, huh?”

“Yes,” Gibbs said.

O’Neill’s expression turned calculating. “I thought you said they were all dumb animals now. No more singing. They’re all instinct and no thought. Does any of that ring a bell?”

Gibbs faded away, and the soft smile was all Samas. “My people lack creativity. I am well aware of this flaw. However, we make up for this flaw by the speed at which we can learn things. I sang for the onac in the waters, and within an hour, they were starting to repeat my songs. They are already recovering—they are a blank slate that I can now fill with the memory of great quests and voluntary pairings. I will see my people return to what they once were, even if the unas refuse to join in the ceremony again.”

“That’s what Kali and Yu are agreeing to… they’ll bring people here for voluntary joining?” Daniel asked. O’Neill watched in silence.

“They remember the way. This is also the sacred water where they were born. Their genetic family is here… their offspring. If they can’t save themselves, they can save their descendants or they can watch as their genetic line dies with them. Ra has finally lost. His vision of the goa’uld will die, and the onac will survive.”

Gibbs triggered the controls and opened the hanger doors. Tony tensed, half afraid more of Ba’al’s jaffa would appear out of nowhere, but only a few servants bowed to them as Gibbs strode toward a squat, triangle-shaped ship.

“Move out, people,” O’Neill said with a sigh. “I wonder if I can claim amnesia and just skip this whole debrief.”

The look Carter gave him was almost sympathetic. Daniel’s wasn’t.


	23. Chapter 23

Tony looked out at the calm waters. Ducky would call this place bucolic, and it was… except for the alien snakes in the water and the giant people-lizard things that apparently lived in caves and threatened to eat archeologists. Tony made a silent vow to never again ask Daniel a direct question. The answers were a little scary. “So, how do we do this, boss?” he asked.

Gibbs looked across the shallow pond. “Walk into the water, and the onac will come out.” He was still using the reverberation that everyone else associated with Samas.

“And when that doesn’t work?” O’Neill asked. He walked out ankle deep into the water and clutched his P90. Tony watched, but nothing happened. “What next?” O’Neill asked as if utterly unsurprised.

Gibbs frowned and walked toward O’Neill. Tony watched as the colonel’s body language screamed his unease, but he didn’t retreat as Gibbs reached out and wrapped fingers around his wrist.

“I’m not sure, but I think we had an in-service training about this kind of touching,” O’Neill commented.

Gibbs gave a small smile. “Your onac only had to know his choices. He will come out.”

“Ri—” O’Neill gagged and then the onac was flopping out of him. It hit the shallow mud and flipped itself into the air with a slap of its tail, and then O’Neill was firing his P90. Bullets shredded the onac’s body and pieces flew everywhere. Gibbs didn’t react, but Tony’s heart pounded painfully hard and Carter and Daniel both clutched their weapons.

“Jack? What the hell was that?” Daniel demanded.

“I’m not letting a snake run around with information out of my head,” O’Neill said.

Gibbs nodded. “The onac could either make a run for it or I threatened to kill him and rip him out of your head. He made his choice.” He looked down at a few chunks that floated on the surface of the muddy water. Tony was surprised that the other onac weren’t munching, but then he could feel something pressing against his skin, warning him away from the mess, and he was guessing that was Samas. 

“You want our onac to teach the ones in there, don’t you?” O’Neill asked.

Gibbs gave a small nod. “One song is not enough to teach them how to sing.”

“But three or four would be?” Daniel asked. “I would support any reasonable attempt to recover your species, but do you really think this would be enough?”

“Yes,” Gibbs said. “Ra and Ra alone taught an entire generation of onac to desire power. I can remind them of what they used to be.”

Carter moved to the edge of the pond, and Tony watched as O’Neill shifted slightly, his weapon ready. He planned to do this again. “How do you know it was Ra alone?” Carter asked.

“My mother’s mother was alive at the time. She heard only distant fragments of his song, but a host came here—something not unas. It came to the sacred waters, and when Ra joined with this host, he learned to crave power and the submission of others. The host was warped in ways the onac were not prepared to handle. None of the queens knew of the danger when he started to sing, so none of them ate him and vomited his parts up on dry land.”

“So, one person can make a difference?” Daniel asked.

“No,” O’Neill snapped. “You are not doing this.”

Daniel got an expression that Tony was quickly learning to associate with Daniel pissing off the colonel. “I go into alien cultures all the time.”

“You, not snake-you. Not a chance, Daniel.” O’Neill had the weapon aimed in Daniel’s general direction, and Carter suddenly cried out. O’Neill swung back around to see her coughing and stumbling back away from the water.

“Crap.” O’Neill whirled around and focused on Daniel again.

“Sorry, sir. It got away,” Carter said.

“Teal’c, you couldn’t have shot it?” O’Neill asked wearily.

“You did not request that I do so,” Teal’c answered. O’Neill just sighed.

“You are not shooting my onac.” Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, and Tony wondered how he had fallen into the world’s oddest conversation.

“Watch me,” O’Neill said.

“You do not get to make the decision for me,” Daniel said, and before anyone could blink, he had done a belly flop right into the twelve inches of water at the edge of the pond.

“Daniel!” O’Neill hurried over and hauled Daniel up. From the coughing and smiling, Tony was guessing that Daniel had successfully helped his onac escape.

“That’s going to be a good story for the campfire,” Tony commented.

“Ya think?” Gibbs said, grinning as he watched Daniel pick his way out of the mud.

Tony walked to the edge of the pond. “If you shoot my onac, I will do very unpleasant things to your hair,” Tony warned the colonel. 

O’Neill put the safety on his weapon and got an arm under Daniel’s elbow before the man could faceplant in the mud again. “DiNozzo, I don’t care what you do with your snake. You don’t have classified material in your head.”

“Hey! Yes I do,” Tony objected, “although it’s more about the wonderful world of NCIS paperwork.”

O’Neill grunted, although that might have been because of Daniel’s weight.

When Gibbs reached out and caught his arm, Tony could feel the flash of emotions between them. Gibbs and Samas were proud of him, protective and viciously afraid for him. There was a deep affection there that Tony hadn’t expected given the many ways he’d pissed Gibbs off in the past few days. Tony had no more than had that thought than he felt a wave of amusement, of approval for Tony’s ability to break the rules.

Then Tony got something more specific. He felt a ghost image—the slide of water over his long body, a narrow crevice, the presence of tiny onac, of small voices that whispered rather than sang. Their thoughts drifted out in tiny doses, almost lost in the current of the river. Tony could feel the danger. They were small, and there were so many that other onac would see them as prey. Some would die. That was accepted, but they couldn’t all be lost. They carried the memories. 

He remembered Kali as she swam through the water, her fins hard razors as she fought. He remembered Yu’s twistiness, the way he would flip a tail and drive his teeth into his opponent while his opponent still tried to chase that elusive tail. He remembered the waters loud with a dozen songs, queens sliding through them seeking the best. And when queens met, the water would turn red with their blood. These tiny onac hiding in the gaps of the rocks sang of all that.

Samas should stay to protect them, but to do so would be to leave Gibbs dangerously short of resources. Samas couldn’t protect both the children and his host. Tony grabbed Gibbs’ arm and imagined himself in the body of an onac, his own fins erect and his teeth sharp as he snapped at any onac that came near his brood. They were Samas’ children, and Tony always took care of the boss’s stuff. 

Samas smiled at him. “I will join you in the water shortly,” Samas said. Tony could feel the violence in that promise. Samas would chase him, try to sink teeth into him. Tony had to tempt the queen into taking his blood and his DNA without giving up so much that the queen found him weak or that she killed him. He couldn’t protect the children if he was dead. It was a new challenge, and Tony felt a hot flash of adrenaline and then he felt a need to retch. He bent over to vomit, but the onac slipped out instead. 

The second it was clear of Tony, its fins opened and it vanished into the water with a flick of its tail. For one strange second, Tony felt like he should be in the water, searching for that cache of rock where he would find his small charges. But that wasn’t his quest. 

Samas tightened his fingers around Tony’s arm. “Keep the idiot from throwing himself on his own sword,” Samas requested.

“Always,” Tony agreed. And then Samas did a far quicker and neater exit from Gibbs. He dove into the water nose first, and appeared again, snapping up several pieces of O’Neill’s symbiote from the water. Tony suspected that Samas wouldn’t be vomiting that one back up, but what O’Neill didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Gibbs dropped his hand and trudged slowly out of the water, squinting. “I hate how he can never fix my eyesight well enough to make it stay fixed when he leaves.”

Tony started laughing. “Christ almighty, Kate, you missed that one.”

“DiNozzo?” Gibbs demanded.

Tony laughed some more as he climbed up to dry land. “Your eyesight, boss. One day you were a sharpshooter who made us both feel inadequate to breathe the same air, and the next you were squinting at a license plate on the screen asking if the last letter was a B or an R when it was really a five. Kate finally decided you had a deep subconscious hatred for desk work and your problems with your eyesight were all a psychological symptom.”

“Huh. Not really,” Gibbs said.

Tony sat down on the grass and looked up at an alien sky. He wondered if Kate was watching, and if so, whether she’d just fallen off her heavenly chair laughing. “Yeah, I think we missed the boat on a lot of things, Gibbs.”

“Probably. But right now, I think we need to talk about the future,” Gibbs said. Tony thought Gibbs was talking to him, but when he looked over, Gibbs had his attention locked onto O’Neill.

“Yeah, we probably should, Gunny,” O’Neill agreed.


	24. Chapter 24

After announcing that they had to talk, both O’Neill and Gibbs proceeded to not talk. It was like watching two functional mutes lead their debate teams. Tony would have jumped in, only he wasn’t sure how to get out of this mess. He only knew that he’d stick with Gibbs, whatever decision he made.

“I accept that I will be brought up on charges,” Gibbs finally said, “assaulting an officer at the very least.”

That sounded a lot like falling on a sword. Tony pushed himself up onto his feet.

O’Neill glanced his way. “Don’t get your panties wadded up,” O’Neill snapped, and Tony’s eyebrows went all the way to full mast. He definitely needed to do something unpleasant to O’Neill, and as the reigning king of practical jokes that pushed the line between joking and harassment, Tony had a few ideas—that is assuming he didn’t land in a jail cell next to Gibbs.

“Tony, stay out of this,” Gibbs warned in his most dangerous ‘do not cross me’ voice.

“Forget it. I promised Samas that I wouldn’t let you do anything stupid. Besides, you were happy to live your life as an NCIS agent until other people started dragging your past up. You didn’t ask for this.”

“No, but he sided with an alien over his own people,” O’Neill said. That should have come out in a pretty accusatory voice, but instead O’Neill sounded curious. He watched Gibbs. 

“Your interrogation technique could use some polish,” Gibbs said. “If you want to know something, ask. I’ve already told you that I agreed to help Samas because without help, his entire race would have been destroyed because of these goa’uld.”

“And now they’re all hunky dory,” O’Neill said. Again, the tone of voice was far too neutral.

Daniel took a step forward, and he might have walked right up to Gibbs only O’Neill caught his arm to keep him close. “Agent Gibbs, you said the onac were already learning from Samas, and if you had Samas and Tony, why did you have to infest us?”

Gibbs turned his back and headed downstream a few feet before choosing a wide rock to sit on. “Kali needed a ship. She has almost nothing left, and the others watch Lord Yu. The younger goa’uld know he’s dying, and they’re ready to try to grab his empire. Apparently he’s so mentally confused, that he’s really not able to do anything except order his jaffa to continue doing their jobs. With that ship, Kali can make trips into his territory and start trying to get his planets to shift their loyalty.”

“She’s building an empire,” O’Neill said dryly. “Great.”

Gibbs shifted his gaze over to O’Neill. “Colonel, she only has another decade or two to live. She’s old, and she’s trying to build a legacy, not an empire.” Gibbs looked over at Teal’c. “She would negotiate with the free jaffa as long as it didn’t interfere with her main plan.”

“Which is?” O’Neill demanded.

Gibbs looked out over the water. “To bring people here. To have the onac remember what she did. To have hosts carry her descendants out into the stars and then come home to sing about it.”

Daniel nodded. “That makes sense. It would explain why the symbiotes have predatory structures. That’s a lot of body to try and shove into a host’s head.”

“And it’s cramped, which is why the onac who stay in hosts atrophy,” Gibbs said. “Samas would like to come back and help you fight the rest of the goa’uld, but he can’t give up his body to permanently live in mine.”

“Help us? We’ve gotten that offer before, Gunny. It didn’t turn out that well.”

Tony grimaced. Unless he was badly misreading the situation, it had ended with the team badly assaulted and Daniel raped. Not well would be an understatement.

Gibbs shrugged. “I expect you’ll keep both of us under guard. Samas knows that.”

“And what sort of help would he be offering?” O’Neill rested his arm on his P90, which was either a habit or a threat, Tony was having trouble reading him.

“He’s onac. Once he sees technology, he learns it fast. He knows a lot about certain types of goa’uld tech, including surveillance and life support, and with that knowledge, he can learn the others systems pretty fast. He doesn’t know much about the current politics, and frankly, he doesn’t want to know. However, if you have someone infested with a goa’uld, he would be very happy to rip it out.”

“What’s the alternative?” O’Neill asked. Tony was surprised the man was even considering the offer.

“I refuse to go near the water again, Samas stays with his people, and when we get back to Earth, I suspect you’ll arrest me.”

“Or not,” Tony barked out. “Gibbs helped rescue you people,” Tony said, poking a finger in O’Neill’s direction.

“That? Nah, we would have gotten out of that. We’ve been in way worse situations.” O’Neill had the gall to make it all sound like a joke.

“You were locked in a jail cell on an alien ship.”

O’Neill gave Tony a very long look before he answered. “And we’ve been in situations that make that look like a vacation. We would have gotten out on our own. However, I do give you credit for stepping up to the plate when you didn’t have to.” O’Neill turned to Gibbs. “You’re not going to come out looking quite as good in the reports. Even if we make a deal, there’s no way for me to make my superiors accept it.”

“I know what I did,” Gibbs said in his most implacable voice. 

“Okay.” O’Neill looked around at the trees that gently chittered in the wind. “So, you’ll trade your knowledge of goa’uld tech for what?”

“First, it’s Samas’ knowledge,” Gibbs said. “I retain enough that I could hotwire a tel’tak, but I wouldn’t be able to change the filter on that thing without Samas in here.”

Carter frowned. “Usually the host retains more of the symbiote’s knowledge, unless the symbiote is trying to keep the host ignorant intentionally.”

“Samas is old,” Gibbs said. “If he shares too much, it could overwhelm me. Onac that old don’t usually join with hosts anymore, but we were both in a bad situation. At the time, I didn’t much care if he destroyed my mind trying to fit in there.”

“Colombia,” O’Neill said softly. That’s where he and Gibbs had first met, on a covert ops mission in Columbia, and O’Neill had never known that Gibbs had his onac passenger. Tony almost felt sorry for whoever they’d gone after, because Gibbs, Samas and O’Neill together was a pretty damn scary combination.

Gibbs nodded. “I think I would have kept volunteering for suicide missions, but it seemed a little hypocritical. Samas had lost more than I had, and he still kept fighting to survive in the slim hope that one day he’d get a chance to strike back. He’s actually a little pissed that you people killed Ra. He had a lot of fantasies about what he would do to that son of a bitch.”

“Get in line. Ra wasn’t popular with a lot of folk,” O’Neill said dismissively.

“Ra killed over a thousand members of Samas’ family, wiped them all out to try and make sure that the onac reverence for temporary hosting died with them. Samas’ own host died in horrible pain. Samas would have died with her only the goa’uld underestimated them both.”

“Yeah, Ra was a sweetheart like that,” O’Neill agreed. “So, Samas is helping us out of some desire for revenge?”

Gibbs shook his head. “The goa’uld hate the idea of these waters. They don’t want to admit that they’ve become parasites, and these waters remind them. If the goa’uld find this place, they’ll destroy the whole planet. Samas will do what it takes to keep his people safe, and that means he’ll help you destroy the goa’uld.”

“So, you come back, accept being in custody for the rest of your life, and help us with technology. Why is that sounding too good to be true?” O’Neill had been casually watching everything, but now he turned and really focused on Gibbs.

“I’m going to be in custody either way,” Gibbs pointed out. “I’d rather be helping my country than sitting in a jail cell. Samas has a couple of conditions, though.”

“Right. Of course. Let’s hear ‘em.”

“He needs to be able to swim freely. Onac were never designed to try and prevent aging or stay in a body long-term.”

“So we find him a bathtub,” O’Neill said with a casual shrug.

Gibbs was immediately on his feet and moving toward O’Neill. Tony watched as Teal’c immediately brought his staff weapon to bear on Gibbs, and Tony brought his staff weapon down to point at Teal’c. Carter then had her P90 pointed at him, and this was not a good place for a stand off. There just wasn’t enough cover.

“Tony, stand down,” Gibbs ordered.

“Boss?”

“Now.”

Tony gritted his teeth, but he lowered the staff weapon. When Carter came close, her P90 still pointed at his stomach, Tony allowed her to confiscate it. 

Gibbs waited until Tony was unarmed before turning his attention back to O’Neill. “Samas doesn’t want to swim in circles. He needs a large enclosure. He’s not asking to be allowed to swim in the Atlantic unsupervised, although he has done that quite a lot, but he does need something closer to a swimming pool than a bathtub.

Daniel spoke up. “We have the aquatic biology labs. They have a series of connected pools they used to bring back native fish.”

Gibbs nodded. “That would be perfect as long as your biologists know that Samas is likely to eat some of their specimens.”

“Well, that might not be exactly, you know…” Daniel frowned. “Maybe we could find them another lab.”

“How much time does he need to spend in the water?” O’Neill asked, and Tony had the definite impression they were moving on to negotiating the details.

“In an emergency, he can stay in me for weeks. The situation with Ari certainly proved that.” Gibbs looked over and gave Tony a wry look. “Your concern about my lack of sleep was appreciated, but not really necessary.”

“At least now I don’t feel bad about the fact that a man ten years older than me was running me into the ground without trying,” Tony said with a shrug. “You were giving me an inferiority complex.”

“What about in non-emergency situations?” O’Neill said, interrupting the moment.

“If he comes out every night, he can go months without wanting a day alone. If we’re on a case and he stays in me, after four or five days, he starts to want out.”

“So, we’d have your help when Samas is with you, but we’d also have periods of time when we could talk to you without the snake being in there?” O’Neill nodded, seemingly pleased by that. “I assume that you’re negotiating without Samas so we know that you’re not under duress.”

Gibbs gave one of his not-nice smiles. “I’m doing it without him because if you don’t agree to his terms, there’s no way in hell I’m going back in that water and you won’t force me. If you’re going to be an asshole, Samas is stuck here until he can find someone to host him long enough for him to find a way to Earth so he can kick my ass.”

“That won’t take long because I’m standing right here, boss,” Tony warned him. If Gibbs did try to sacrifice himself, Tony wouldn’t hesitate to get Samas.

O’Neill rolled his eyes. “Teal’c, keep that one away from the water.”

“I shall,” Teal’c agreed.

Tony watched as Teal’c moved into position, but honestly, Tony wasn’t worried. Teal’c would be able to overpower him, but not before Tony darted around him and got into the water. Speed and agility trumped strength, at least it did if you only needed ten or twelve seconds to get the job done.

“DiNozzo, don’t think about it,” Gibbs warned.

Tony gave Gibbs his best smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

O’Neill and Gibbs both snorted. 

“He’s annoying,” O’Neill commented.

“He’s the best I’ve ever had on my team, both with undercover work and with forming relationships with others. I’ve watched as suspects just about fell in love with him and victims told him details they’d hidden from everyone else out of shame.”

O’Neill looked Tony up and down. “Yeah, I saw some of that. He’s still annoying.”

“Look who’s talking,” Tony pointed out.

O’Neill shrugged without disagreeing. “So, do you have conditions other than a big swimming pool?”

“One,” Gibbs said, “and it is not negotiable.” Gibbs waited a couple of seconds before continuing. “Samas will have nothing to do with the tok’ra. Nothing. He considers them as corrupt and disgusting as the goa’uld. If he so much as comes face to face with one, he will eat it alive and vomit it back up.”

“Yeah, he likes doing that.” O’Neill gave an exaggerated full body shiver. Tony had to agree that it was a little gross.

“The tok’ra tried recruiting Samas, and they did some pretty shitty things. He doesn’t want them even knowing he’s still alive, especially since he knows most of them, and they know him. Onac have long memories.”

Carter still had her P90 pointed at Tony, but she backed up several steps so she could see Gibbs. “Did he know Selmak?”

“The name is familiar, but you would have to ask Samas, not me.”

“Well,” O’Neill said loudly, “I am in favor of any plan that leaves the tok’ra in the dark. I think the general will go along with that, but honestly, he might not.”

“Then know that Samas will eat every tok’ra he can reach,” Gibbs warned.

O’Neill got a thoughtful look on his face. “If you’re going to make promises like that, I may invite a whole gaggle of tok’ra to my next birthday party.”

“Jack,” Daniel warned.

“What? Hey, I am always very up front about how much I dislike them, so if they’re stupid enough to show up for my birthday party, I’m not going to feel bad about Samas eating them. However, you have to clean up the mess he’ll leave behind,” O’Neill said, pointing a finger in Gibbs’ direction. “Right then, any other conditions?”

“Don’t let Tony get trapped in this mess,” Gibbs said. He looked over at Tony.

“Forget it, boss. If you’re in this, I’m in this.” Tony didn’t add that he had as much reason as Samas to protect this planet. That was him in the water. That onac might not have been born from Tony’s DNA, but he was family. 

“DiNozzo.”

“Forget it. Once they know where they’re going to ask you to work, I can make my own deal. I’m not walking away. Besides, if the SGC needs someone to go undercover as a goa’uld, I’m willing to bet they’re short on good undercover agents and fresh out of anyone who would willingly come back here to pick up an onac.”

“He’s right on both counts,” O’Neill said. “However, his deal would be pretty straightforward compared to yours, Gunny. Once we get the brass to sign off on having you around, hiring a federal agent will be easy.”

“And if they don’t sign off on Samas’ deal?” Tony demanded.

O’Neill’s blank expression said everything it needed to.

“Samas has gotten himself out of worse jams,” Gibbs said. “So, are we taking the chappa’ai or the tel’tak?”

O’Neill looked over at the squat ship. “We can’t just leave our pretty toys behind, Gunny. Time to make donuts, or in this case, take the pretty stolen ship and head for home.” Still grinning, O’Neill turned and headed for the tel’tak. The other members of his team followed so that Tony was left with Gibbs.

Gibbs was looking at Tony with the expression he normally reserved for those times when Tony had said something particularly stupid in front of the director. 

“I have as much reason to protect this world as you do. And I’m also rather invested in protecting Earth,” Tony said.

Gibbs turned and went back to the pond without comment.

“You know, you’re going to have to think of a really good story for Ziva and Tim. Otherwise, those two are going to keep going until they land themselves in the middle of this mess with us,” Tony warned. Ziva would probably love all the ass-kicking these people seemed to do. He wondered how Kate would have handled the secret. He could just imagine her whispering a profile in his ear as she watched O’Neill. She definitely would have had a few things to say about that man and his humor.

Gibbs crouched down and the water splashed up. That’s all. But when Gibbs turned around, Tony could see the subtle differences. Samas was driving the body.

“He worries about you,” Samas said.

“He worries about everyone.”

Samas smiled. “He does.”

“So…” Tony looked out at the water wondering if Samas had time to do anything.

Samas turned to look across the calm pond. “You gave a good chase, but then you were not actually trying to escape.”

“From you? Nope.”

“The larvae are very small and vulnerable, but I’m sure you’ll protect them with the others.”

Tony smiled. His symbiote had earned the offspring he so desperately wanted. “A whole generation of smart-ass onac. The universe should tremble.”

Samas laughed. “I think the universe is safe. Do you think the SGC will hold up their end of this bargain?”

“You’re asking me?”

“Yes,” Samas said. “Gibbs and I are very good at seeing the evil in a person’s heart. Our gut, as you call it, is quite well attuned to it. However, you often have better insight when it comes to people in general.”

Tony looked toward the tel’tak. “They’ll try to keep the bargain. Honestly, it would be safer for you to stay here. I’ll stay with Gibbs.”

Samas started walking toward him, and halfway up the hill, his body language shifted. Tony wasn’t even a little surprised when Gibbs firmly headslapped him.

“Right boss. All three of us stick together.”

“Damn right, DiNozzo. Now get your ass on the alien spaceship.”

Tony laughed. “That’s a phrase I never thought I’d hear you say.”

“It’s a phrase I wish I could have avoided,” Gibbs said. “But we’ll work it out.”


	25. Chapter 25

Tony wasn’t surprised when O’Neill and crew locked them in one of the tel’tak’s rooms. Luckily, it seemed to be the one bedroom, so while the SG crew had to camp on the floor, he and Gibbs got a bed fit for a goa’uld, and goa’uld did like their comforts. It was weird because they subjected their real bodies to getting jammed up inside a tiny space in a human brain, but then they demanded the human body get all the luxuries.

Gibbs finished pacing the room and stopped near the door. He finally sighed and walked over to the bed.

“So, you think Kali can pull this off—get hosts to start going through there?”

Gibbs nodded. “She always did whatever she needed to. She’ll do it.”

“She betrayed you, didn’t she?” Tony asked. It would explain why she hadn’t come to Samas directly, and why Samas would have the DNA of the younger goa’uld. At one point Samas had liked her well enough to consider having little Kali babies.

Samas chuckled, a softer sound than when Gibbs did the same thing. “You still surprise us with your insights. Yes. She did. Shiva refused to take human hosts and came to us to talk about removing Ra from his throne. This would be dangerous because Ra had so much technology. Whatever host he had originally joined with, he had gained incredible knowledge that no onac had ever possessed. He thought Kali would stand with us. Even when an enemy had poisoned her and she had gone mad and killed everyone she could reach, she stopped short of killing Shiva. He was so sure she would remain loyal.”

“She betrayed you.”

Samas gave a sad smile. “She betrayed Shiva, killed him on Ra’s orders. Shiva’s servants then betrayed me. However, by that time, Ra already knew that I was planning on trying to kill him.”

“She doesn’t deserve to have a legacy.” If the others were listening, that was vague enough to make them think Tony was talking about her plans for an empire. He really meant the children Samas had left behind.

“She was once a great warrior,” Samas said sadly. “The dreams Ra brought of power… they were so strong that I think I might have fallen under them if I had heard him sing directly. I was saved by luck and distance Tony. I can’t condemn her for being unlucky in both.”

“Then I’ll hate her for both of us,” Tony said.

Samas came over and sat on the edge of the bed. “The universe should prepare for a generation of onac who are insanely loyal and vindictive.”

Tony shrugged. He looked down, and he still had on a couple of the smaller goa’uld bracelets. He’d thrown most of them off before the fighting began, but these were hinged, and he hadn’t had time to figure out the mechanism, so it’d been easier to keep them on. He fingered the carved gold and thought about the slaves on that ship. They’d just been passed from Ba’al to Kali, and they had no voice in any of it.

Samas reached out and curled his fingers around Tony’s wrist. “We all know how to handle the burdens of the life we are born into. Gibbs often struggles with the thought that I have lost so many. Thousands of my family died in a failed attempt to destroy Ra. Most of us never even had a chance to take a host, and hundreds were mutilated by Ra in his quest to bring the goa’uld under control long before they even had a chance to rebel. But my kind… we are born and we die in such numbers that this was not the burden for me that it would have been for him.”

“I feel like I should have given them a choice.”

“If they had wanted, they could have come to you and asked for that choice. They didn’t.”

Tony wasn’t even surprised that Gibbs and Samas seemed able to read his mind. They always could. “So I left them behind.” Tony rubbed his forehead.

“So you left to go back to the world you know, a world where they would not understand the rules.”

Tony looked over. “You’re not usually this big into comforting.”

Samas shrugged. “I’m in a good mood. Besides, I often do wish to comfort you. Gibbs is far more careful of his interactions with you.”

“Careful? Why?” Tony could feel a dark unease settle into his stomach. He’d admitted to being sexually attracted to Gibbs, and this was where the man nicely pointed out that he was disgusted by the idea. 

“He very much has the sexual preferences of a queen,” Samas said.

“He wants to bite me until I bleed?”

Samas’ mouth came open, but after a second, he closed it again without speaking. He cleared this throat before he found words. “No. Definitely not. But he sees himself as the active partner, the penetrator. He knows how you reacted to the suspect who was a man dressed as a woman, and the horror you felt when you kissed this individual. Until recently, he believed you were strictly interested in being the penetrative partner with receptive females.”

Tony grimaced. “I’ve never heard sex described in quite such unsexy terms.”

“Gibbs is not sharing his knowledge on this particular topic, and I am having to rely on my own understanding of human sexuality. I am sure I am getting parts wrong.”

“Not wrong,” Tony admitted, “just described oddly. And this next part is going to make me look like an ass.” If Kate were here now, he would never admit this. “I made a big deal because I hated how Kate always tried to profile me, and getting upset about a gay kiss fit into her profile. I liked the fact that she never caught onto the fact that I’m bisexual. And I was initially bothered because I am not into cross dressing. I want women parts on women and men parts on men. Some people prefer partners who are a little rounder, some like ‘em short,” Tony looked at Gibbs, “some like them redheaded. I like my partners with a lack of gender ambiguity. I know it’s irrational and it probably makes me a transphobic ass, but that’s why I was bothered.”

“Human sexuality is odd.”

“Yep,” Tony agreed, “but we can’t help what we like.”

“And you like Gibbs,” Samas said.

“There is a lack of gender ambiguity there,” Tony admitted. “If he were any more stereotypically male, he’d be forced to wear flannel and carry a cigar with him at all times.”

Samas looked confused for a second, and then Gibbs was there. “I sometimes wonder what goes on in that head of yours, Tony.”

“Not much,” Tony admitted.

A frown flickered over Gibbs’ face. 

“So, I’m confused, is this the ‘it’s not you, it’s me speech,’ because if so, you’re definitely rusty, boss.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “You always assume the worst when it comes to yourself. This is the ‘let’s get some things straight’ speech.”

“Straight. Right,” Tony nodded as he pressed his lips together.

“Since Samas has been here, I’ve become more flexible about the idea of sex, but I started pretty uptight, Tony.”

This was definitely sounding like the break up speech. Tony nodded his head and tried to keep a neutral expression.

“I will admit that I would enjoy sex with you, but I would never bottom. You might be bisexual, but if you’re with me, that prick of yours doesn’t get to visit any place more interesting than a hand.” Gibbs had a grim expression on his face, and it took Tony a second to figure out why. Gibbs thought that would be a deal breaker.

“That’s fine,” Tony said with a shrug. “I rarely top with guys, and trust me, I never had even a hint of a fantasy where you were anything other than a dominant top. Hell, about half the women I dated liked to peg me, so being bottom is no problem.”

“Peg?” Gibbs asked.

Tony felt his face warm. “Yeah, if you don’t know, you might want to let that one go, boss.” Tony really was not up to explaining that kink.

Gibbs grunted. It was the sort of noise he made when he was told to drop something that he was planning to not drop. Tony felt his face warm more. “So, you don’t mind me being a stereotypical dominant top?” Gibbs stood and moved to stand right in front of Tony.

Tony swallowed. “Not so much,” he agreed. Gibbs tightened his hand around Tony’s wrist, and the pressure forced the edge of the gold bracelet into the flesh of his inner wrist. Tony could feel his cock start to harden. 

Gibbs held him for a second and then released him. “Strip,” he ordered.

Tony’s brain had a little white out moment, and it took Gibbs raising an eyebrow to get the damn thing kick started. Then Tony scrambled off the side of the bed and started stripping out of the silly layers of silk that the slave women had spent hours putting on him. Gibbs was taking off his own clothes at a more sedate pace. He draped the leather jacket over the one chair in the room, and then his silk shirt followed. By the time Gibbs was stripping off the leather pants, Tony could see Gibbs’ hard erection tenting his red silk underwear.

Tony had another little white out, and then he was pushing off his own pants. That left him naked except for the jewelry on his wrists, and one decorative swirl clipped to the side of his ear. Again, he hadn’t been able to figure out the latch, and right now, Tony didn’t care.

“Lie on your back in the middle of the bed. Arms at your sides,” Gibbs ordered. Tony’s cock was immediately hard. Gibbs definitely didn’t need any time to get used to the idea of ordering Tony around in the bedroom. Without a second’s hesitation, Tony did as ordered.

Gibbs grunted and then leaned down to tug Tony’s arm out a few inches. “Don’t move.”

Tony nodded. His mouth was too dry to respond properly. 

Gibbs circled the bed and then sat on the edge where he ran his fingers over Tony’s arm. Tony curled his fingers into the sheets and fought every instinct that told him to move, move, move. Gibbs explored the curve of Tony’s flank as he worked his way down until he traced circles over the hollow formed by Tony’s hipbone. Now Tony’s cock was rock hard and the tip was slick with precome. 

“You okay, Tony?”

“Great, boss.” Tony might have said more, but Gibbs pulled at one nipple hard enough to make Tony gasp. Immediately, Gibbs’ fingers gentled. Tony moaned low in his throat, but then Gibbs pulled his hand back and Tony blinked owlishly.

“Hands back where they were, Tony. Do not move them again.” Only then did Tony realize that his right hand had drifted to his hip, his fingers itched with a need to grab his cock and start jerking off.

“Sorry, boss.” Tony put his hands back at his sides and groaned as Gibbs rewarded him by running his thumb over the end of Tony’s cock. Tony cried out and arched up into the touch, but he didn’t move his hand.

Then Gibbs’ fingers curled around Tony’s cock. Tony opened his mouth, but he couldn’t make a sound. “Tony, tell me one thing you’ve fantasized about,” Gibbs ordered.

That was not fair. Tony’s brain wasn’t even fully functional, and Gibbs wanted to have a conversation? Or maybe it was Samas. Maybe Samas didn’t know that this was killing Tony.

“Boss…” Tony let the word trail off. “Please…” 

Tony looked up into Gibbs’ startling blue eyes. 

“One fantasy, Tony.” Gibbs was definitely not going to let this one go. Tony closed his eyes because he could feel the bonds here so much more than any leather against his wrists. Other doms had always controlled him with rope, but Gibbs was grabbing hold of something deep in Tony’s soul, and he wasn’t going to let go. 

“I want to suck you,” Tony admitted. 

Gibbs considered him, his head cocked to the side. Then he shifted around, lying down so they were in a classic 69 position, and Tony groaned in raw need. Keeping his hands at his sides was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, but Gibbs had asked him to do it, and he wasn’t going to fail a second time.

“Permission granted,” Gibbs said in the same tone he might use when he let Tim use the G19 requisition forms. It was weirdly hot.

“Permission for…”

Gibbs smiled at him. “For anything, Tony. At least until I issue new orders.”

Tony smiled. After rolling up onto his side, he ran a hand over Gibbs’ warm skin and then rested his palm on Gibbs’ hip. He looked down at Gibbs’ face, and Gibbs watched him. Time to impress the boss. Tony kissed the end of Gibbs’ cock. It hardened under his lips, and Tony sucked the head into his mouth, tasting the salt and musk. When he moaned, he could feel the vibration of it in his lips and Gibbs’ cock got even harder. 

Tony took Gibbs’ cock farther into his mouth, using his tongue and lips to feel the shape of it, the firmness. While Gibbs breathed harder and the skin under Tony’s hand felt warmer, there was no other reaction. Even now, Gibbs was in control. He didn’t utter a single sound. 

Tony pulled back and then leaned in until Gibbs’ cock brushed the back of Tony’s throat. Gibbs thrust forward just a little, and Tony found his throat blocked by the head of Gibbs’ cock. He’d played this game with tops, but this was different. This was Gibbs taking away his air, waiting to see Tony’s reaction. Tony closed his eyes and tried to stay calm as he used his tongue to explore the ridge and the veins of Gibbs’ cock. 

Then Gibbs pulled back, and Tony was left with only the tip of the cock in his mouth. He sucked hungrily and let his tongue slide along the slit.

The throbbing in his own balls approached the level of pain even through Gibbs hadn’t touched him. What’s more, Tony’s lower jaw ached as he continued to suck while Gibbs started slowly thrusting in and out of Tony’s mouth. Tony experimented, sucking more gently during one thrust and more passionately during the next. He flicked his tongue over the end one time, and another he pressed the end of Gibbs’ cock up against the top of his mouth.

Sometimes Gibbs would give the smallest of groans or grunts, but other than that, he was silent and his pace never varied. Tony’s own body twitched as he fought an urge to grab himself and jerk off. His balls felt heavy and his cock was cold as the precome dried.

Gibbs rested his hand on Tony’s stomach, and Tony’s whole body twitched. The heat of Gibbs’ hand soaked in, and then that hot hand slid down toward Tony’s cock.

Tony fought every instinct he had. He wanted to buck up toward that heat, to grab himself, to do something. Instead, he focused on breathing as Gibbs kept up his slow, shallow thrusts into Tony’s mouth and Gibbs’ hand brushed against Tony’s balls. The touch was feather light, but Tony groaned at the shivers that ran through is his whole body. 

When Gibbs wrapped his hand around the base of Tony’s cock, Tony shouted around the cock in his mouth. Gibbs thrust in, nearly choking Tony, and he jerked Tony’s cock at the same time, and then Tony was coming so hard that his muscles locked up. With a guttural shout, Gibbs came. The cum hit Tony’s mouth with warm splatters dotting his chin.

Gibbs quickly sat up and turned around so they were lying next to each other. Then Gibbs pulled him close, Tony’s cum smearing between them. 

For some time, Tony lay silent while Gibbs stroked him gently. “You’re still an idiot for following me into this mess,” Gibbs said softly. Tony was almost sure that the insult was Gibbs’ version of declaring his love. After all, Gibbs was trying to keep him safe.

“I know, boss. But I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

“Whither thou goest,” Gibbs said softly, and it almost sounded like a complaint.

“Yep,” Tony agreed. It was true, and it was time that Gibbs figured that out.


	26. Chapter 26

A week in the same room, and Tony was ready to climb the walls. Not even sex could keep him happy. Samas was showing up more, and he was just as quick to pace the room. Gibbs was the only one who could lie on the bed and just wait. Even the food came out of a compartment in the wall, so they’d been sealed in completely.

So, the click of the door unlocking didn’t register with Tony right away. He didn’t react until Gibbs was on his feet, grabbing his shirt and slipping it on. He hadn’t even finished with the first button when the door slid open and O’Neill stood there.

Tony was still scrambling to pull the covers up, and O’Neill groaned. “You might want to consider not telling because I’m not asking,” O’Neill said.

“Funny enough, we’re civilians,” Tony shot back.

O’Neill cleared this throat. “About that…”

“What did you do?” Gibbs asked, his voice dangerously low. Tony’s brain clearly hadn’t fully engaged because it took him several seconds to fully realize what Gibbs was implying.

“I got you the best deal I could,” O’Neill said. “I’ve been on the radio with everyone up to the President himself, and I convinced them to all of your conditions.” O’Neill emphasized the word “convinced” just enough to make it clear that he’d had to apply a little pressure. “However, the President wanted to make sure we had clear authority to keep you—no claiming you were kidnapped, no NID trying to grab you, no scramble for a cover story if you went missing. The easiest way to do that was to reactivate your commission. Congratulations, you’re an official gunny again.”

For a second, Gibbs just stared at O’Neill, and then he started buttoning his shirt again. “Great.”

“That’s ‘Great, sir.’” O’Neill smirked. When Gibbs didn’t respond, the smile fell away. “It was the best deal I could get you, gunny.”

“I know, sir,” Gibbs said, “but if Samas is running the show, you are not going to get any salutes out of him. He’s pissed enough that he’s going to have a hard time keeping a civil tongue in his mouth.”

“Well, that might not be a problem.” O’Neill grimaced.

Gibbs froze. Slowly he lowered his hands to his sides even though his shirt was only half buttoned. It was a damn sexy look. The cold fury on Gibbs’ face was a little intimidating, though. “Colonel?”

“No one liked the idea of you being too close to the Stargate. They’re transferring you to Area 51 where we have a couple of engineers who are Carter-level good with goa’uld technology.”

“Area 51?”

“Yep. So, here’s the thing. McKay is a bit of an arrogant ass, so please try to avoid killing him. I mean, if you absolutely have to, we can cover for you. This is McKay we’re talking about, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot of paperwork. So the general rule with McKay is bruise, don’t break.”

Tony wrapped the sheet around his waist. “I’m not getting shut out,” he blurted. “I don’t care about the military ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ crap.”

O’Neill made a face. “We’ll tell the officers to knock before going in your rooms because this is a little less than discrete.” O’Neill carefully didn’t look at Tony who was naked as a jaybird with only the sheet around his waist.

“We have one set of clothing and no way to wash it except to use the shower,” Samas said. Tony was guessing that Gibbs was too pissed to deal with this. “Tony’s clothing is hanging in the washroom.”

“Stick to that story, uh huh.”

“It is the truth. If we were having sex, I would make sure to tell you in great detail.”

O’Neill narrowed his eyes. “You’re Samas.”

Samas tilted his head. “I am.”

“Well crap. Why aren’t you doing the voice thing? I like it better when I can tell you two apart.”

“You knew it was me or you would not have asked.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know when you switched. Look, we plan to tell the officers exactly who you are, so we’re going to have to figure out some sort of system where Samas wears a science uniform and Gibbs has the regular gunnery sergeant uniform. That should let people know which of you is which. And if anyone questions your relationship, you just tell them that Samas is sleeping with DiNozzo, and since Samas is an alien, clearly he isn’t in the US Armed Forces.”

“As for you…” O’Neill gave Tony a long look.

“He stays with me,” Samas growled.

“Hey, he’s all yours. I find him annoying, but maybe you like to be annoyed. However, when the folks back home did a little background check, they found something interesting.”

“I am not responsible for whatever my father has done,” Tony said firmly.

From the confusion on O’Neill’s face, that had not been the general direction the conversation had been taking. “Okay,” O’Neill said, drawing out the O. “You might want to talk to a therapist about your father issues. You’ll have a couple on-base.”

Tony clamped his teeth together and carefully didn’t cast aspersions on O’Neill’s parentage.

“But back to my point. A lot of goa’uld technology is reverse engineered from the Ancients, a pretty human-like race that was around a few million years ago. They liked to seed planets with mini-mes. A small percentage of humans have actual Ancient DNA, so clearly there were a few of those Ancients who liked to get kinky with the races they created.”

“And?” Gibbs demanded.

“And DiNozzo has the Ancient gene. It means that the scientists who are working with Ancient technology could really use his help activating devices for them to study. So, you get lightswitch duty.” O’Neill grinned.

“Lightswitch duty?” Tony was almost sure he was insulted. He was going from an investigator on one of the top teams in a federal agency to lightswitch duty.

O’Neill shrugged. “Danny ropes me into playing with his Ancient toys all the time since I’m one of the others with the gene. Lightswitch duty is a legitimate position for a civilian contractor.”

Gibbs took a step forward. “But that’s not your whole life. You have a job with meaning, and you would ask Tony to be nothing more than a lightswitch for scientists.”

“Samas, it’s okay,” Tony said softly. It would be. They could stay together and Tony would have Gibbs’ and Samas’ back. They’d need that on a military base full of people who hated the goa’uld and who couldn’t tell their onac from their igigi. Besides, Samas would be vulnerable when he was in the water, and if Gibbs had been officially reactivated, he wouldn’t be free to stand guard every time Samas went for a swim.

“You are a trained federal agent.”

Tony smiled. “With a talent for fitting in everywhere I go. It doesn’t matter if I’m with an art thief or infiltrating a mob-owned business, you know me boss, I find a way to worm my way into some cushy job. A base full of military people can’t be any harder to infiltrate.”

Samas stared at him.

“I’m not going back to NCIS. If I did, I would have to break in a new boss and find a way to fit in with a new team, and honestly, you’re the only person I ever really clicked with at NCIS. Tim tolerates me, Kate thought I was an overgrown child, Vivian had dreams murdering me in my sleep—dreams she often shared with me in vivid detail, and Ziva is pretty sure I’m a man-child who can’t be trusted around weapons. Can you really see me happy at NCIS without you?”

“Fornell would take you on his team,” Samas said.

“Great. Then I could be Sacks’ probie. I try to avoid working with people who attempt to convict me of a murder I didn’t commit. I’ll pass.”

O’Neill cleared his throat. “Why do I suddenly suspect your official file might not have as many details as I might want? And here I thought the plague was the worst of your troubles.”

“Not even,” Tony said with a snort. “I sort of attract trouble.”

“To say the least,” Samas agreed. “I often despair at your ability to find trouble.”

O’Neill made a face. “Look, just remember that these Ancient devices actually have a mental control system. If you’re secretly suicidal, you’re pretty damn likely to blow the whole base to hell and back.”

Tony’s mouth fell open. “What? No. Why would you even think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” O’Neill looked at him oddly. “So, speaking of your job, I’m going to need you to go back to NCIS and tell your coworkers that Gibbs has been reactivated because of a situation.”

“They’re still looking?” Samas looked surprised.

“Of course they are, boss. They’re not going to give up.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Actually,” O’Neill said, “David and McGee both obeyed the order to stand down. It’s your forensics tech you need to get to back off. She’s been battering at our computer firewalls, and if she gets access to classified data, I’m going to feel back when I have to order someone to arrest her.”

Tony knee walked to the end of the bed. “You are not arresting Abby.”

“Then get her to understand that she has to back off.”

Tony looked at Gibbs. He was the only person who had ever convinced Abby to do anything.

“Forget it,” O’Neill said firmly. “Samas doesn’t leave Area 51. You will have Captain Lorne as backup.”

“Backup or a guard?” Tony asked.

O’Neill shrugged. “A bit of both. NID loves getting their claws into anyone with the gene, so if you’re on Earth, you’re now officially a target. However, Lorne will also be making sure you aren’t going off the reservation.”

“Goodie.” Tony sank back down onto the bed.

With a sigh, O’Neill leaned against the side of the door. “Look, I don’t like feeling like the bad guy here, and I honestly am trying to get you the best deal I can. Play nice, and I will try to move you into areas that you might find more interesting. I happen to think you two are good guys, even if I question your tactics. So give me some time to work on this from my end.”

“Tony,” Samas said, “this is the only way to strike back against the goa’uld. Someone must distract them while Kali works, or you know the consequences.”

Samas’ children would die, not that Tony planned to tell anyone from Earth that. But it was true. Tony’s onac and Tony’s onac’s kids would die. And yeah, Tony knew that he probably shouldn’t feel so attached to them—hell, O’Neill had shot his onac—but still, Tony could feel that hard knot in his stomach at the thought of it. The SGC would never know about those children of Tony’s, of O’Neill’s and Daniel’s and Carter’s, but they would be out there, joining with hosts and exploring the world. But if the goa’uld destroyed the planet, then all those lives would be lost.

“Tell me that what we do at Area 51 will help you take out those bastards,” Tony asked O’Neill.

O’Neill looked right at him. “The work out of Area 51 has a better chance of saving the world than I do,” he said seriously. “The right piece of technology can turn the war. I’m just a soldier holding my own on the front.”

“I doubt you’re just that,” Samas said, “but if you need help with technology, I will do my best to make sure your people have everything they need. Gibbs would accept no less. He truly would die for your country or your world. And while I will not die for your country, I am more than willing to help your world destroy the goa’uld.”

O’Neill nodded. “I still wish you would have kept your snaky self out of his head.”

Samas smiled. “But then we never would have met. Gibbs was dying. I gave him his life back and in return, he promised that if there were ever a way to strike back against the beings who destroyed my people, he would take whatever risk he needed to give me that chance.”

For a long time, O’Neill really studied Samas. “And in keeping his word, he gave up his life. I’m not sure the gunny deserved that.”

After that, Samas’ smile wasn’t so kind. “None of us have gotten what we deserve. As long as we’re alive to protect our own and strike our enemies, life owes us nothing else.”

O’Neill nodded. “At least you don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t.”

“I never have. It’s why Ra tried so hard to kill me.”

O’Neill didn’t answer. Turning, he left and the door closed behind him.

“Well that went well,” Tony said softly.

Samas walked over to the bed and rested his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “It went considerably better than I expected. We will have a chance to help your people strike back at the goa’uld, and we will be together.”

“We’re alive, we’re together, and we’re still striking back at the enemy. I guess from an onac point of view, life is good.”

Samas looked at him sadly. “It is. What does it look like from a human point of view?”

Tony wasn’t fooled. Gibbs could have given that answer, so for Samas to have asked it, he was more interested in Tony’s reaction than any general human response. “I think it’s a hell of a lot better than any alternative I could have come up with,” Tony said. He smiled up. Samas moved his hand until he ran his thumb over Tony’s lips. As long as he got to stay with Gibbs and Samas, Tony had what he needed.


	27. Chapter 27

“Okay, Abby is going to seem a little strange, so don’t freak out.”

Captain Evan Lorne looked at him oddly. “You know where I work. Do you really think one lab tech is going to freak me out?”

“Yes,” Tony said firmly. “Which is why we’re going to see the director first. Tony watched the elevator numbers as he headed back up to his familiar stomping grounds. The guards at the front doors had greeted him warmly, and Tony had to make them promise to not tell everyone he was coming. When Sec Nav had told the NCIS people to stand down, he hadn’t given them any explanations, and from what Tony had gotten from the guys at the door, that had led to some pretty wild speculation.

Not that their guesses would ever be as wild as the truth. 

“Nervous?” Lorne asked.

“Hey, I’m just here to tell some coworkers to back off. I won’t get nervous until I have to face Abby.”

Lorne nodded. “It’s hard, telling people half truths about what you do.”

Tony looked over, but Lorne kept his eyes on the elevator doors. The fact was that Tony liked the man. He liked most of the people in his new job, and part of him didn’t want to. He wanted to hate an organization that kept Gibbs under guard at all times. But they were good men and women, and they’d built Samas an entire eco system and they respected Samas’ opinion as much as Gibbs’. Well, everyone except McKay, but he tended to shoot down everyone’s theories. It was kind of cute the way he blustered and bluffed and tried to make himself out to be the one with all the answers. It kind of reminded Tony of himself when he was much younger and even more insecure. 

The elevator dinged. Tony plastered a smile on his face and stepped out into the room where he’d spent the best three and a half years of his life. It took a half a second, but then heads started to turn. The clacking of computer keys went slowly silent, and people started to stand up to see what had caused the interruption.

“Tony?!” Tim yelled from across the room. “Holy crap. It’s you. Where have you been? Where’s Gibbs?” Tim came trotting down the hall, his eyes sliding past Tony to look behind him.

“What’s the matter McNeedy? Are you in need of a Gibbs headslap?”

“What? No.” Tim stopped. He gave Lorne a strange look, and for one second Tony wanted to give him shit about Tim eyeing up the handsome man in the dress uniform. If they were still teammates, he would have, but now… it didn’t feel right.

“Tim McGee, this is Captain Evan Lorne. Lorne, this is McNerdy the computer whiz.”

Lorne put on one of his brightest smiles and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Believe it or not, Tony has a lot of complimentary things to say about you and your work.”

Tim took Lorne’s hand, but his gaze kept slipping over to Tony and giving him these little confused microexpressions. “Yeah, nice to meet you. I haven’t actually heard anything about you from Tony, but then Tony has been sort of missing for a month now.”

“Not missing, reassigned. Reassigned. I know you got the memo.” Tony put on his most superior grin. “After all, how could Sec Nav not promote me once he saw my greatness?”

“Your greatness?” Tim’s words were utterly flat.

“Well, I’m greatness adjacent, anyway,” Tony said with a shrug. “I’m good at watching the boss’s six, and believe it or not, getting recalled to active duty has not improved his disposition much. He makes seamen cry.”

“To be fair, I think that seaman would have cried without Gibbs,” Lorne pointed out. When Lorne had come to Area 51 to pick up Tony, he’d been a little shocked at McKay’s bluntness. McKay bluntness plus Samas and Gibbs bluntness had actually led to more tears than the Armed Forces normally allowed.

Tony shrugged. “Hey, if a little old civilian can deal with those three without crying, the folks in uniform need to suck it up.”

“Those three?” Tim jumped on the first real bit of intel Tony had offered.

Tony gave Tim a slow smiled, every bit of arrogance he could shoved to the forefront in order to make Tim believe the story he was going to tell. “And that would be classified way above your pay grade, Tim, although I work there so clearly I have the clearance to know all about it.”

Tim slowly reddened. 

“Anyway, we were in town, and I was going to stop in and see you guys and drop in on the director before fielding the wrath of Abby. How bad is it down there?”

Tim’s expression immediately turned to sympathy. Oh this was going to be so very bad. “She’s convinced that you were sucked up into a huge government conspiracy,” Tim said. “She’s talking about blackmail and secret agencies, and things that only exist in comic books.”

Tony cringed. The worst part was that Abby’s best guesses would come closer to the truth than he could ever admit. 

“She thinks a gunnery sergeant being reactivated during a national emergency requires blackmail?” Lorne asked, confusion in his voice. Tony did appreciate that Lorne was following his lead instead of trying to manage the situation himself.

“National emergency?” Tim asked, his voice going up.

“I’m sorry, Agent McGee, but I’m not cleared to talk about the situation. However, Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs and Tony have both proved invaluable, which is why we’re here.”

“I’m cleaning out the desks,” Tony said with a smile. “And I really tried to find a place for you on the team, McGee. I did. But these guys have computer experts coming out their hoo-ha.”

Lorne laughed. “Is that a technical term?”

“Yep,” Tony said, grinning back as though they were close. True, he respected Lorne and Lorne had been utterly professional and polite in the three days since he’d picked Tony up, but they weren’t exactly buddies. 

But now Tim was looking back and forth between them, clearly struggling to figure out the relationship.

“You’re cleaning out your desks?” Tim’s voice was very small.

“These kinds of opportunities don’t come along every day, McGee,” Tony said as he gave Tim a slap on the shoulder. “We all know how many valuable skills Gibbs has, but I found a place where I can shine.” To be more precise, the artifacts he touched shined or glowed or vibrated or in one memorable case, blew up. However, it was important work. Tony understood that. “So, where Zeeva?”

“She is out with another team. Nieberbalm caught a case with a family that speaks Pashtu, so she went to translate. They just left about an hour ago, so it’ll be a while before they’re back.”

“Oh.” Tony had only worked with Ziva a couple of months, so missing her wasn’t a tragedy, but he had promised to check on her for Gibbs. Samas had finally explained the way that Ziva had shot her brother to save Gibbs’ life, and Tony now understood. Gibbs’ loyalty to her came from the same place as his unflagging loyalty to Samas—they’d all lost family. They’d lost too damn much family, and Gibbs wanted to scoop them up and protect them. Samas found the concept strange, but he put it in the same category with Gibbs’ other quirks, such as enjoying tying Tony down for sex. When Samas was in charge, sex came with much more wrestling and occasionally chasing each other around Area 51, much to the distress of Samas’ guards. Tony called them training sessions, but he was fairly sure he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“I’m sorry, Tony, but we don’t have that much time,” Lorne said in his most sympathetic voice. It was nice to have a guard that expressed sympathy.

“And here I thought NCIS was the highest stress job I’d ever have,” Tony said with a put upon sigh. “Well, at least we carved out a little time to touch base and collect our stuff. If you want to grab Gibbs’ stuff from his desk,” Tony nodded toward the desk in question. It was still empty although a new laptop was sitting on Tony’s desk.

“Did you give my desk away, McTraitor?”

“You were reassigned,” Tim defended himself. “And I didn’t let her put her things in the drawers.”

“Because the drawers are locked,” Tony pointed out, pulling his keys out of his pocket. Lorne already had Gibbs’ keys, and he’d apologized as he’d explained that he would have to inspect everything they removed from the building. After all, Samas might have hidden some technology in a place he could access it easily. Tony knew it was bullshit, but he also got the feeling that Lorne knew it was bullshit and he was following orders, so Tony didn’t let it bother him. “Go find us some boxes. We’re going to go touch base with the director.”

“But you are going to see Abby, right?” Tim asked, panic on his face. Yep, if Tony didn’t go down there, Tim would have to talk to her, and Taliban interrogators couldn’t hold a candle to Abby when she was on a mission.

“Yes, I’m going to see Abby. Now go, get boxes. Shoo.” Tony waved him off, and then headed for the stairs, Lorne falling into place next to him. 

“You’ve been hanging out with McKay too much,” he said softly.

“Nah. I treated McGoo like that before I met you guys. He needs someone who won’t treat him like glass or he’ll never be able to handle the real world. That one had too much MIT. If he wants to be a field agent, he’s got to get used to people saying things he doesn’t like. A few months as a patrol officer getting called a pig and a douchebag would probably improve his performance in the field, but that’s not likely,” Tony said. They reached the top and Lorne opened the door for him. Of course, that also allowed Lorne to check the room out first. He did that a lot.

“Cynthia!” Tony sang her name as he came through the door. Normally that earned him an eyeroll, but she came around the desk and caught him in a hug. 

“I heard the prodigal son had returned. The director is waiting for you.”

Tony cringed. “Oh, if the rumor mill is running that fast, I’d better make this quick and get down to the lab.” 

That made Cynthia laugh. “Yes, you’d better. Go on, the director has a full schedule, and she has people on hold while she talks to you.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Tony was to the door before Cynthia spoke again. “We miss you around here, Tony, you and Gibbs. It’s been almost boring.”

Tony flashed her a grin, and then Lorne was opening the door, doing his checking the territory thing again. When Tony stepped into the director’s office, he could see her shocked expression as she considered Lorne. She’d been in the business long enough to recognize a guard, but he doubted that she saw Lorne as anything more than a bodyguard. An Air Force captain who cleared rooms ahead of Tony even in the middle of NCIS headquarters. Yeah, the director had played this game long enough to know something was up. 

However, Jenny Shepard was nothing if not smooth. She stood up and came around the desk, catching Tony by the arms in a sort of awkward imitation of a hug. “Tony. It’s so good to see you again.”

“Director,” Tony said, and that’s where the awkward started. He couldn’t play her the way he had to the others. Lorne’s presence made that impossible.

Jenny smiled at him and then offered her hand to Lorne. “Jenny Shepard,” she offered.

“Captain Evan Lorne. Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Yes, well I hope you’re taking care of my men.” Jenny looked over at Tony again.

“Doing my best, ma’am.” 

Jenny looked back at Tony. “I guess the rumors about you working for another agency are true.”

Tony shrugged. “I’m Gibbs’ second.”

“Yes, you always were. So, can you tell me anything about this new job of yours? I know what Gibbs has done for his country in the past, and I would like to think you aren’t getting involved in that aspect of government work.”

Wetworks. Tony knew damn well that Jenny and Gibbs had killed together, gone on assassination missions. Tony looked over to Lorne, not sure what to say in the face of this sort of question.

“With luck, Tony will never see that sort of direct action,” Lorne said. “He has a skill set that makes him more… flexible than most.”

“Flexible?” Tony demanded. “Why Lorne, I didn’t know you thought of me like that.” Tony batted his eyes, and Lorne started to blush.

“Tony,” Jenny said with a sigh, “If you’re going to work more closely with the military, you might want to tone down the sexual references.”

“Ma’am,” Lorne said, “Tony’s skill set is valuable enough that if he made a sexual game out of playing hide and seek with his male lover while running all over base and having sex on any convenient horizontal surface, we’d deal with it.” Lorne turned and gave Tony a long look, and now Tony was blushing.

“Oh.” Jenny’s voice sounded very small, and she cleared her throat.

“Lorne’s just trying to get me back for the flexible comment,” Tony said, but he couldn’t stop the blush.

Jenny waved a hand. “Right. Tony, if you ever need me or need a reference or decide to come back to the less exciting end of the pool and do some law enforcement again, we’re here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tony agreed. She gave a little frown. Tony realized he’d never been one to ma’am anyone before, but he’d always been a chameleon, and he was now living on a base full of military personnel. Tony wasn’t surprised he had already started to shift. “I should go see Abby. Apparently, she’s ready to call out the National Guard.”

“I vetoed that plan,” Jenny said. “Go see her. Reassure her that changing jobs is not the same as the world ending.”

Tony almost gave her another ma’am, but at the last minute, he changed that to a quick nod and a “You got it.” He turned and headed for the door.

“Tony?”

He turned back, and Jenny was smiling at him. “You always were one of our best. You hid that in Gibbs’ shadow, but the people who count always knew.”

Tony smiled. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me for the truth. Now go. If Abby finds out I have you up here, she’d going to storm the castle. It was nice to meet you Captain Lorne.”

“Ma’am,” he said with a nod, but when Tony left, Lorne hurried to get to his side. “The director of a federal agency is afraid of a lab tech?” he whispered as Tony led them to the elevator.

“Entire continents are afraid of this lab tech,” Tony whispered back as he pressed the button to call the elevator. Lorne was giving him a very strange look. “She sleeps in a coffin.”

“She what?” 

Tony just grinned. He was going to miss introducing new people to Abby. You could tell a hell of a lot about a person by how they responded to her, and Abby had a good feel for people, as long as she wasn’t dating them. Then she had the worst taste in the world. But he was looking forward to subjecting Captain Lorne to a good dose of full-on Abby.

Lorne was still looking at him oddly when the elevator reached Abby’s level. As the doors opened, Tony could hear the heavy dirge music drifting down the hall. Oh that was not good.

“Did someone die?” Lorne asked.

“No, but someone is going to,” Tony said. When Lorne tried to step up to clear the room, Tony put out a hand to stop him. “I don’t know if you’re going to get a lab tech flying at you to hug you or a beaker thrown at your head, but trust me, whatever happens it’s aimed at me.”

“And my job is to take the beaker to the head, or better yet, make sure neither of us gets hurt,” Lorne said firmly, and then he pushed Tony back and pushed the door open. His reflexes were much better than Tony’s because he jerked back out of the way, but the only thing to come flying through the door was Bert, the stuffed hippo.

Lorne frowned as he looked at the stuffed toy and then looked up at Tony. Smiling, Tony grabbed Burt and hugged him so he made a farting noise and now Lorne looked really disturbed. However, he knew his job. He pushed the door open slower, sticking his head around the corner. “Ms. Sciuto?” 

“Who are you?”

Tony pushed past Lorne and headed into the danger zone, Burt held in front of him like a shield. “Hey Abbs, I see you’ve met Captain Lorne. Try to keep throwing things in reserve for a second date, okay?” he asked.

Abby stared at him with wide eyes, and for several long seconds, Tony wasn’t sure how she was going to react. She might hug him or kill him, and he could see the delicate balance between those two things in her gaze. Maybe Lorne could sense that too because he edged closer. Brave, stupid man.

Then the balance tipped, and suddenly Abby was in his arms, crying as she held onto him. “I looked for you, and the director said I shouldn’t, and I hit this firewall, and Tim said he didn’t think it was a good idea to break through it because it was like NSA level encryption, but I couldn’t find you.” She dug her fingers into Tony’s flesh until it honestly hurt.

“Hey, we’re fine. We’re okay, both of us. Abby, you know how Gibbs gets when he’s on a case.”

“A case?” Abby backed off, a fierce scowl in place. “You were on a case and you didn’t call me? I’m your forensics genie. I’m your magician of the trace evidence. I’m the third musketeer.”

Tony smiled. “Yes, but it wasn’t the sort of case with trace evidence.”

Abby crossed her arms and gave Lorne the stink eye. “This is a military thing, isn’t it?”

“From Gibbs’ past,” Tony agreed, “and it’s important enough that Gibbs wants to work on cleaning up this mess, and I kinda agree. Besides, I can’t leave the boss to fix stuff on his own. Who would have his six?”

“The rest of the military might,” Lorne said quietly, but Tony ignored him. Abby only rolled her eyes in his direction before focusing on Tony. She got it. Their Gibbs didn’t take care of himself. He needed them—he needed family.

“You still should have called.” Abby punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow.” Tony rubbed the sting away. “We were chasing down bad guys, and then we got caught by bad guys and then we got rescued while doing some of the rescuing.”

Lorne made a strangled noise that was probably his nice way of threatening to kill Tony if he revealed classified information.

“Gibbs and I managed to do that sort of thing before changing agencies. She’s not going to be shocked that we’re doing more of the same,” Tony said.

“Usually only you get captured,” Abby disagreed. “And Gibbs gets you out.”

Tony shrugged. “Better class of bad guy, and Gibbs still got me out.”

Abby pressed her lips together and gave Tony a thoughtful glare. “And where is my silver fox? If this is all just an agency transfer, why isn’t he here?”

“Um…” Tony looked over toward Lorne, and now Abby transferred all her attention that way. Tony knew exactly what she would see. Lorne was a young captain, which meant he’d taken positions with a hell of a lot of responsibility, and he was wearing his dress uniform, so he had all his medals and ribbons on display. He hadn’t served in any of the major war zones, but he did have a number of awards that only went to those who served in active conflicts. Abby was a scientist. She would put the evidence together, even if she never would get the full picture.

“Tony?” Abby demanded as he stared at Lorne until he was looking mildly alarmed.

“Gibbs tried to order me to not take the job. He tried to order me back here, Abbs, but like I pointed out to him, I’m a trained federal agent, and I would have died several times over if he wasn’t such a stubborn bastard that he refused to give up on me, even when others would have. He ordered me to survive the plague, and I did because disobeying Gibbs just isn’t an option. If he ordered me back here, my life expectancy would probably drop.”

Abby chewed on her lip.

“But you’re not in the line of fire, and Gibbs can’t put you there,” Tony said. He was giving Abby more of the truth than he gave to the others, but he still ached to tell her about all the wonders he’d seen. He could just imagine Abby’s face if she got to see Earth from space, but that would come at too high a cost. Abby would never be safe again.

“I don’t want to lose my family,” Abby said softly.

Tony opened his arms, and she came back for another hug. He held her tight and let himself breathe the unique smells of shampoo and perfume and lab chemicals that would always mean Abby to him. “Gibbs is gone because this fight is too important for him to walk away. He’ll come see you if he can, but you can’t wait for it, Abbs. And you can’t go looking for him, because if you find him, you’ll get dragged into this mess with him. It would kill him. He needs you safe.”

“What about you?” Abby asked, her voice muffled because she still had her face buried in his shoulder.

“I had to choose what part of the family I stayed with. Gibbs needs me.”

“He needs me too,” Abby said.

Tony pulled back and looked into her tear-stained eyes. “Yes, but Tim and Ziva and NCIS need you just as much. It’s like me, Abby. NCIS needs me and Tim is still too timid and he needs me, but Gibbs needs me, and I had to decide which place needed me more.”

“How can I decide where I’m needed more if you won’t tell me anything?”

Tony pulled Abby close and kissed her forehead. “You trust Gibbs, Abbs. Gibbs wants you safe, and that’s why he took this job, to protect everyone. But anyone who’s with him isn’t safe. That’s ripping him up inside. Please, Abby, don’t keep pushing, not when he’s still struggling with the idea that I’ve given up my life to stick with him. I love him for being all protective over us, but you know how he gets when we’re in danger. Please don’t be the person who destroys him. Don’t do that to him.”

“I hate this.”

Tony closed his eyes. “Me too, Abbs. Me too.” He held her until Lorne made some comment, and Tony let his mouth make some gentle excuse. But he felt broken, disengaged from the conversation. Letting Abby go hurt more than any other part of his miserable day, and Tony couldn’t quite get his brain to fully engage as he walked out of her lab for the last time.

The visit with Ducky went much quicker. Ducky admitted that the director had called him, and apparently the two of them assumed that Tony was working undercover for covert ops people in order to cover Gibbs’ six. Ducky had loaded Lorne down with orders about watching Tony for chest colds and getting him checkups. Lorne had taken it all in stride, agreeing to essentially wrap Tony in cotton before he accepted a two inch thick medical file.

By the time they left, Lorne was smirking. “Do you need me to hold your hand?” Lorne asked.

“Bite me,” Tony suggested.

After that, Tony wasn’t sure he even noticed what his body was doing. They went back to the bullpen and he cleaned out his desk. Gibbs’ metals were all waiting in the bottom drawer, and Tony ran a hand over each before loading it into his box. Lorne was much more efficient with Gibbs’ desk, but he checked every single item inside and out, so it took him just as long.

Tony was vaguely aware of Tim and he traded a couple of barbs with him, but then before Tony could blink, they were back in the parking lot, getting into the military issue car Lorne had checked out. Tony put his box in the trunk with the one Lorne had of Gibbs’ belongings.

“We missed the lockers in the training room,” Tony said as he got in the passenger side.

Lorne glanced over. “Is there anything in there you need?”

Tony shook his head. “Work out gear. We have plenty.”

Lorne nodded as he started the car and pointed it toward Andrews. They were taking a military flight, so not even Tim or Abby could trace their flight plan, not even if they tried. Tony suspected they wouldn’t. He hoped, anyway.

No one spoke until they were on the highway. “You okay?” Lorne asked, his voice gentle.

Tony looked over, surprised at the question. “Fine. Why?”

Lorne shrugged. “You did a hell of a job in there. That couldn’t have been easy, pushing them away.”

Tony closed his eyes. Lorne wasn’t supposed to be smart enough to see through Tony’s act. “I did what I had to do. They aren’t part of this fight.”

Lorne didn’t answer, and for that Tony was grateful. After a while, Lorne turned on some soft jazz, and Tony gave himself a little time to mourn the loss of this life. He wasn’t sorry. He’d choose Gibbs and Samas any day of the week, and he understood how important the fight against the goa’uld was—both for the onac homework and for Earth. However, he would miss Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. It was a life that was worthy of a moment of silence as it passed.

 

 

Now, go read the next story in the series. It's happier.


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